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I I 


















































































CIVICS 

FOR 

MONTANA STUDENTS 


BY 

HENRY H. SWAIN, Ph. D., 

it 

PRESIDENT OP THE MONTANA STATE NORMAL COLLEGE 


SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 
CHICAGO NEW YORK 



Copyright, 1907, by 

HENRY II. SWAIN 

Copyright, 1912, by 

SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 


CCI.A314680 


PREFACE 


The purpose in offering this book is to enable pupils in the 
public schools of Montana to have the means of studying 
government as it actually exists where they live. The di¬ 
versities in state and even more in local government, in 
different states of the American union, are such that what is 
written for use in some states will not apply to others. If 
a pupil is to learn about his own state, there are consequently 
only two alternatives—either to have a book written ex¬ 
pressly for that state, or to expect the pupil as he goes 
along, to make the necessary mental corrections—perhaps 
with the aid of a condensed summary appended to his text¬ 
book. 

Teachers who have had some experience do not need 
to be told that the latter attempt will not work successfully. 
The adult mind may be able to grasp generalizations, and 
modify them to secure a mental picture of local conditions; 
but the child must start with what is definite and specific. 

This is indeed one of the chief reasons for emphasizing the 
study of one’s own government. It is not simply that an 
understanding of the government with which he is immedi¬ 
ately connected is of most practical value. It is only by 
starting with what is right at hand and accessible to the 
child’s personal observation, that the study can be made 
other than mere “book learning.” 

For this reason every effort has been made m the present 
work to turn the pupil’s attention to what is really going 

iii 


IT 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS 


on about him, so that he may not associate the study of 
civics simply with the school and “lessons,” but come to 
connect it with actual life. It is hoped that every teacher 
who uses this book may keep this purpose constantly in 
mind. Foot-notes occasionally offer suggestions which the 
writer has found of great practical help in achieving the 
end sought. 

Teachers of small experience may be disappointed in not 
finding more historical matter. There is a time when some 
knowledge of the historical development of political insti¬ 
tutions will throw light on a pupil’s understanding of his 
own government, but that time is certainly not at the begin¬ 
ning of his study. We do not think it necessary to instruct 
a child in the origin and development of the alphabet and 
the general history of language before he learns to read. 
Nor can a pupil who knows next to nothing of present 
political institutions, get from books any lucid conception 
of prehistoric conditions. 

Nevertheless the present book does not by any means 
ignore historical aspects, and the smallest library, even the 
school histories, will supplement this to as great an extent 
as most pupils will find desirable till they reach a more ad¬ 
vanced stage of their studies. 

Dillon, June, 1907. 


This book has been rewritten and revised to date. It con¬ 
tains all the important changes and developments in City, 
State, and Federal Government that have occurred since the 
first edition appeared in 1907. The statistical matter is re¬ 
vised to the present time. 

Dillon, May, 1912. 



CONTENTS 


CHAPTER I. page 

Local Government . 1 

CHAPTER II. 

The Finances of the County. 11 

CHAPTER III. 

Elections . 17 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Officers of the County. 27 

CHAPTER V. 

The Government of the Cities. 30 

CHAPTER VI. 

The State . 42 

CHAPTER VII. 

Making the Laws. 49 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Executing the Laws. 60 

CHAPTER IX. 

State Finances . 69 

CHAPTER X. 

Interpreting the Laws. 72 

CHAPTER XI. 

Education. 83 

Constitution of Montana. 94 

CHAPTER XII. 

How We Came to Have Another Government. 153 


v 
















vi 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER XIII. 

The Congress of the United States.159 

CHAPTER XIV. 

How the Congress Works. 165 

CHAPTER XV. 

Foreign and Interstate Relations. 170 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Things That Must Be Alike . 175 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Federal Finance . 181 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Territories of the United States. 185 

CHAPTER XIX. 

General Powers and Restrictions. 190 

CHAPTER XX. 

The President of the United States. 193 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Executive Departments. 200 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Judiciary. 206 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Amending the Constitution. 211 

Constitution of the United States. 215 

Index . 231 















CIVICS 

FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 

It must perplex pupils, if not teachers, to notice what a 
great diversity there is in definitions of government in dif¬ 
ferent text-books. This is not the place to discuss these 
definitions, but a very little study discloses the reason for 
such conflicting variety. Each writer has his own opinion 
of what government ought to be, but no government that 
actually exists anywhere corresponds to this notion. Con¬ 
sequently the impossible task is undertaken of making a 
definition that will agree with the writer’s notion of what 
ought to be, and at the same time apply to what is. 

What Government Is.—Now many modern governments 
are exceedingly complicated affairs; the fundamental idea 
of government itself, however, is very simple. The follow¬ 
ing illustrations may make this clear. Water is very neces¬ 
sary to human life; but there are many different ways of 
securing a water supply. In one neighborhood it may be 
entirely satisfactory for every household to have a well on 
the premises and be wholly independent of every other house¬ 
hold. In another neighborhood, it seems better for several 
people to combine their efforts. They may, for example. 



2 CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 

sink a well on the corner of four adjacent lots, and use water 
from this, or they may lay pipes from a spring or a run¬ 
ning stream on the premises, and so, not only have water for 
their own use, but sell a supply to others. In some circum¬ 
stances it may be better for all the inhabitants of a com¬ 
munity to combine their efforts, and establish a water system 
for supplying all. 

Sometimes scattered families on the frontier protect their 
own homes against marauders and savages. In other in¬ 
stances a number of persons combine and hire guards to 
protect their property. In still other cases a whole com¬ 
munity regularly and systematically co-operate for mutual 
protection. 

Some families educate their own children. Sometimes 
teachers are paid to teach the children of several families. 
Still another way is for a whole community to combine and 
employ teachers for all the children. 

Many more illustrations might be given, but these are 
enough to show how various objects may be accomplished in 
any one of three different ways: by individual effort, by 
the combined efforts of several persons, and by a complete 
combination of a whole community. Wherever we find per - 
manent and systematic combination of a whole community 
for any purpose, there we have government. 

It will be noticed that this statement does not imply any 
particular theory about the probable origin of government. 
Nor does it necessitate any discussion about the “proper” 
function of government, a question over which a great deal 
of breath has been wasted. Some persons maintain that the 
only proper function of government is to kill or imprison 
people, that all other objects should be attained only by indi¬ 
vidual efforts, or the association of a few persons. The 
fact is, that there are few if any objects of human endeavor 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


3 


which have not, at one time or another, been undertaken 
by each of these methods. Which is the best method for 
attaining any particular end is largely a question of ex¬ 
perience, with which we are not specially concerned here. 

Nor is any question raised about how people are led to 
co-operate. If it is largely a matter of compulsion with 
many people, we have government of a despotic type. The 
more largely the co-operation is voluntary, the nearer we 
approach the essence of pure democracy. Governments differ 
chiefly in the relative proportions in which the voluntary 
and compulsory features enter. No government known to 
history has been wholly devoid of either element. 

Our Different Governments.—Now, just as some ob¬ 
jects may be best accomplished by the co-operation of all 
the people in a community, so some things may be done 
best by the co-operation of several communities, or even of 
all the people in a large extent of country. Consequently, 
the same people are often concerned in several different gov¬ 
ernments at the same time. The co-operation of the people 
of a single neighborhood is accomplished through a town¬ 
ship government or a city government or the government of 
a school district. Those things that can be more satisfac¬ 
torily accomplished by the co-operation of all the people in 
a wider area are managed through county government. Ob¬ 
jects that are better attained through still wider co-operation, 
come within the sphere of the state government. Finally, 
the federal government achieves ends that require the co¬ 
operation of the whole nation. 

Township Government.—In some states that are very 
thickly settled, the people co-operate in a good many matters 
in small groups called townships, which are usually about 
six miles square. Montana, however, is at present so sparsely 
settled that regions so small as that seldom contain enough 


4 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


people to make township government practicable. So the 
principal unit of local government in Montana is the county. 

County Government.—There are at present in Montana 
thirty-one counties, having areas varying from about one 
thousand to more than thirteen thousand square miles. Nat¬ 
urally, the counties of the greatest area are in the more 
thinly settled parts of the state, and as their population in¬ 
creases, some of these counties will doubtless be divided in 
two. 

There are several things in regard to which the people of 
a county can be of help to one another. One of these is in 
preserving the peace and settling disputes, but as part of 
this work is done by other units than the county, it will be 
more convenient to study all about that matter by itself, 
and we shall do this in a separate chapter on the Judiciary. 

The people of a county also co-operate in regard to educa¬ 
tion, but as some educational matters are managed by the 
state as a whole, it will be better to leave this also for a 
separate chapter on the school system. 

What the County Is For.—So, apart from schools and 
judicial business, there are three things especially in which 
the people of a county co-operate. These are, the public 
roads, the care of the poor, and the keeping of certain public 
records. 

Now, to accomplish these ends, three things are necessary: 
1st, to decide just what shall be done; 2d, to provide for meet¬ 
ing the expense involved; and 3d, to have it understood just 
which part of the work shall be done by which persons. 

Where there is township government, it is possible for 
all the grown men to come together and talk matters over, 
decide what is best to do, arrange for raising the money 
needed, and select the persons to see to the different details. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


5 


This is just what is done in the New England “town meet¬ 
ing" 

In a Montana county, however, many people would have to 
travel a long way to get together, and even if they all came 
—since there are seldom less than a thousand, and in some 
counties nearly twenty thousand men 1 —they would make 
such a crowd that it would be impossible to have a meeting 
in which they could talk matters over. 

So, instead of attempting this, the people of a county 
choose three men to represent them in the management of 
county affairs. Instead, therefore, of having direct or demo¬ 
cratic government, like that of the New England township, 
we have in Montana chiefly indirect or representative gov¬ 
ernment in the county. Chiefly representative, though there 
are a few matters in regard to county government that are 
decided directly by the people . 2 


1 The following table shows the area and population of the different 
counties in 1910 : 



Sq. Miles 

Pop. 


So. Miles Poo. 

Beaverhead .. .. 

. . . 4.719 

6,446 

Madison . 

. . . . 4,581 

7,229 

4,190 

Broadwater .... 

. . . 1,194 

3,491 

Meagher . 

- 3,766 

Carbon . 

. . . 2,438 

13,962 

Missoula . 

_4,243 

23,596 

Cascade . 

. . . 3,384 

28,833 

Park . 

. . . . 2,675 

10,731 

Chouteau . 

. . .15,972 

17,191 

Powell . 

. .. . 2,559 

5,904 

Custer . 

. . .13,156 

14,123 

Ravalli . 


11,666 

Dawson . 

. . .13,231 

12,725 

Rosebud . 

. . . . 9,663 

7,985 

Deer Lodge. 

749 

12,988 

Sanders . 

. . . . 2,859 

3,713 

Fergus . 

. . . 9,078 

17,385 

Silver Bow. .. . 

. . . . 698 

56,848 

Flathead . 

. . . 6,070 

18,785 

Sweet Grass. . . 

. . . . 2,918 

4,029 

Gallatin . 

. . . 2,513 

14,079 

Teton . 

. . . . 7,581 

9,546 

Granite . 

. . . 1,637 

2,942 

Valley . 

-13,515 

13,630 

Jefferson . 

. . . 1,650 

3 465 

5,601 

21,853 

3,638 

Yellowstone .. . 

. ... 5,729 

22,944 

Lincoln . 


Totals .. .. 

. . .146,201 

376,053 


Since the census of 1910 Musselshell county has been formed from parts 
of Fergus, Meagher, and Yellowstone counties; Blaine and Hill counties 
have been formed from parts of Chouteau county; the boundary of Mis¬ 
soula and Sanders counties has been slightly changed, and a portion of 
Madison county has been annexed to Beaverhead county. An area of 
181 square miles included within the limits of the Yellowstone National 
Park is not in the jurisdiction of any county, and has no population. 

2 For instance, the people decide whether the county shall go in debt 
for more than ten thousand dollars, whether the county seat shall be 
moved to another town, whether the county shall be divided, whether 
there shall be a county high school and whether liquor selling shall be 

S rohibited. They also decide who some of the county officers shall be. 
low they do this will be seen when we come to study elections. 

































6 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Board of Commissioners. —The three representatives 
chosen by the people to consider and decide what shall be 
done by the county, are together known as the board of 
commissioners. They are chosen for terms of six years, but 
in such a way that the term of some commissioner expires 
every second year. 

The board of commissioners organize by choosing one of 
their own number as chairman. Their meetings are held 
at the county seat 1 and are open to the public. The regular 
meetings begin on the first Monday of December, March, 
June and September; special meetings may be called at any 
time by a majority of the board. A statement of all the pro¬ 
ceedings 2 of the board is published after the adjournment . 3 
Each commissioner is paid by the county eight dollars for 
each day’s attendance at meetings and ten cents for each mile 
traveled. 

Boad .—In a mountainous county, the care of the roads 4 
is a very great task, and if we look over the proceedings of 


1 The county seats of the different counties are as follows : 


County. 

Seat. 

Beaverhead . 


Blaine . 


Broadwater . 


Carbon . 


Cascade. 

. . . Great Falls 

Chouteau. 

. . Fort Benton 

Custer. 


Dawson . 

.Glendive 

Deer Lodge. 


Fergus . 

.Lewistown 

Flathead . 


Gallatin . 


Granite . 


Hill . 


Jefferson . 


Lewis and Clark. . 



County. 

Lincoln . 

Madison. 

Meagher. . .White 

Missoula . 

Musselshell . 

Park . 

Powell. 

Ravalli . 

Rosebud . 

Sanders. 

Silver Bow. 

Sweet Grass. 

Teton . 

Valley . 

Yellowstone 


Seat. 

.Libby 

. . . Virginia City 
Sulphur Springs 

.Missoula 

.Roundup 

.Livingston 

.Deer Lodge 

.Hamilton 

.Forsyth 

Thompson Falls 

.Butte 

.Big Timber 

.Chouteau 

.Glasgow 

.Billings 


2 The county clerk attends all the meetings of the board and keeps a 
record in full detail of all the proceedings, showing how each commis¬ 
sioner voted on every question. 

3 A class may derive great profit from cutting out of the newspapers 
and preserving in a scrapbook for several months the official reports of 
these proceedings. They will then have abundant practical illustration of 
what is here described, and can learn much more than can be fully stated 
in the textbooks. 

4 The term “roads” strictly means only highways, outside of incorpo¬ 
rated towns or cities. 1 
































GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA 


7 

the county commissioners, we shall see that this business 
occupies a large part of their attention. 

They decide where roads shall be located. This is usually 
done on petition of the persons specially interested in having 
a particular road opened, and the recommendations of three 
road-viewers specially appointed to examine the matter. 
When a road is laid out across land belonging to any per¬ 
sons the owners must be compensated by the county for the 
land so taken, for the government is not considered to have 
any right to take private property for public use without 
compensation. In estimating the damage done to the land- 
owner the board of commissioners also takes account of the 
benefit which he will derive from the opening of the road, 
and if this offsets the damage, no payment need be made. 
On the other hand, no land-owner can refuse to permit his 
land to be taken for a road, because the government has a 
right known as the right of “eminent domain/’ which has 
been defined as “the right which governments necessarily 
retain over the estates of individuals to resume them for 
uses of a public nature.” 

When a road has been established, the commissioners attend 
to the construction, maintenance, and improvement of the 
highway, and of any bridges or ferries which may be 
necessary. To facilitate this work, they divide the county 
into road districts, in each of which a supervisor, working 
under the general direction of the board, takes immediate 
charge of the roads, keeping them in repair and making such 
improvements as may be needed from time to time. An 
officer, known as the county surveyor, makes such surveys 
as the commissioners find necessary in connection with the 
roads. 

The Poor.:—In each county the board of commissioners 
care for persons either permanently or temporarily unable 


8 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


to provide for their own needs. In the case of families in 
temporary distress, this is sometimes done by gift of money 
or supplies, or medical attendance, but the usual method is 
to take such persons to the poor farm, which the commis¬ 
sioners have provided for this purpose. Here unfortunate 
persons are fed, clothed and lodged in the poorhouse, and 
in case of sickness are attended by the county physician, 
sometimes in a separate building known as the county hos¬ 
pital, especially if they are suffering from contagious dis¬ 
eases. The usual method is for some citizen of the county 
to rent the farm and buildings at an agreed rental per year. 
He is then entitled to whatever he may raise out of the 
farm with the help of the inmates. On the other hand, he 
is paid by the county an agreed sum per day for the care 
of each person consigned to the farm. 

Sometimes the aid rendered to the poor consists of rail¬ 
road fare to some other place where they are thought to have 
friends. 

In the more populous counties, where there is a great deal 
of business for the commissioners, there is a county officer 
known as the auditor, who looks after the wants of the 
poor. 

County Records.—Among the things of which it is very 
desirable to have an accurate public record, are all of those 
things which show who are the owners of the different pieces 
of land in the county. If a man offers to sell me a sack 
of flour or a suit of clothes, which is in his possession, it 
is ordinarily safe enough to presume that the goods are 
really his, and that he can sell them to me. For, in the 
absence of any suspicious circumstances, it is reasonable to 
suppose that one who has personal property in his possession 
is its owner. Personal property can be moved from place to 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


9 




place, and if it should get out of the owner’s possession, he 
would naturally take measures to recover it. 

With real estate it is very different. Since it cannot be 
moved, one who owns considerable real estate cannot get it 
all into one place. It is very common for owners of real 
estate to lease it to others for a long period. Therefore the 
fact that a man has a piece of land in his possession is no 
evidence that he is the owner. Nor can the owner affix an 
indelible brand to it as he can to live stock. So it is very 
important for an owner of land to be able to prove that he 
is the owner. 

Furthermore, it is very common for land-owners to pledge 
land as security for the payment of a debt. When this is 
done, it would be wrong for the land to be sold to anyone 
who was ignorant that the land was so pledged. Or, to 
express the same thing in different words, the nominal owner 
in such a case would really be only part owner, and, of course, 
could sell only what he owned, namely, a part interest in 
the land. 

Therefore the board of commissioners provide record books, 
and a fire-proof vault to keep the books in. When a per¬ 
son buys a piece of land in the county, he brings the deed 
to an officer known as the county clerk, and gets him to copy 
it into the record. Similarly a mortgage or any other legal 
paper affecting the title to real estate is recorded, and as 
these records are open to public inspection, it is possible for 
one who contemplates buying a piece of land to learn posi¬ 
tively who the owners are . 1 

The county commissioners may also establish public scales 
and appoint public weighers, and may provide for establish- 


iThe county clerk also records all marriages, births and deaths occur¬ 
ring in the county, official bonds, assignments for the benefit of creditors, 
estrays and lost property, and is ex officio deputy sealer of weights and 
measures. 



10 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


ing and maintaining drains under the charge of a drain com¬ 
missioner whom they appoint. 

There is also a county officer known as the surveyor, who 
is employed to locate the boundary lines of real estate. 1 

Court House.—In order to have a place for the board to 
meet, to keep the public records, to provide offices for the 
county officers, and a meeting place for the district court, 2 
the board build, or sometimes rent, at the county seat, a 
building known as the court house. 

In this connection also they usually provide a jail for 
the detention of persons confined there by order of the court. 
These, as well as the other buildings belonging to the county, 
are in charge of the board of commissioners. 

1 A survey may be made by any competent person, but when made by 
the county surveyor, it is accepted as evidence in a court of law. 

2 Described on page 72. 


CHAPTER II. 


THE FINANCES OF THE COUNTY. 

Whether people supply their needs by working separately 
or by co-operating, there is very little that can be accom¬ 
plished without involving some expense. To keep up the 
roads, to care for the poor, to carry on schools, and to do 
the other things which the people of a county combine to 
accomplish, costs a great deal of money. To provide for 
meeting all these expenses is consequently a very important 
part of the business of the county. 

There are several sources from which counties derive some 
income, but as taxation is the principal one, we shall consider 
that first. 

Taxation.—Various plans for raising taxes are employed 
in different places, but Montana counties depend chiefly on 
property taxes and poll taxes. Poll taxes are levied on every 
man between the ages of twenty-one and fifty to the amount 
of two dollars each, 1 for road purposes, and on men between 
twenty-one and sixty years old, a similar tax for the poor 
fund. 

Property taxes are levied on all the property in the county 
except public property and property used exclusively for 
religious, educational, or charitable purposes, or for agricul¬ 
tural fairs, hospitals, or cemeteries. 

Assessment.—In order to levy a tax it is of course neces¬ 
sary first to know what property and polls are in the county. 

1 Feople who prefer to do so may contribute one day’s labor on the 
roads in place of paying this tax. 

11 


12 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


For this purpose an officer known as the county assessor 
makes, between the first Monday of March and the second 
Monday of July in each year, an assessment. That is, a 
list of all the polls in the county, and of all the property- 
owners, together with the kind and value of their prop¬ 
erty. 1 

As changes may take place during this time, the assessor, 
no matter on what day he happens to assess a property- 
owner, takes account of things as they were on the first 
Monday of March. 

The assessor sends to each property-owner a blank state¬ 
ment in which he may declare under oath what he believes 
to be the value of his property, but if he refuses or neglects 
to make such statement, he must submit to whatever esti¬ 
mate the assessor makes. 

Equalization.—When the assessor has completed his work, 
he reports it to the county clerk, who lays it before the board 
of commissioners. On the third Monday of July the com¬ 
missioners meet as a “Board of Equalization.” At this 
meeting the board increases the assessment of any property 
whose value seems to have been underestimated, and if prop¬ 
erty-owners think the assessor has unreasonably increased 
the estimates which they have given him, they may bring 
in evidence to show the board that their assessment should 
be lowered, and the board decides what is fair. 

The Tax Levy.—When the assessment has been completed, 
the data are then available for levying the tax. The county 
tax is levied by the board of county commissioners, who meet 
for this purpose on the second Monday in August. 

Levying the tax is done after estimating the probable 
amount of money which will have to be raised by taxation 

1 Even If some of the property owners live in other counties or states 
they are taxed in the county where the property is. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


13 


to meet the expenses of the county for the ensuing year. 
Dividing this by the total valuation of taxable property, of 
course, gives the number of mills which must be levied on 
each dollar’s worth of taxable property. It is usual for the 
board to specify the number of mills levied for each pur¬ 
pose. 1 

Apportionment. —When the tax has been levied, the 
county clerk enters against each name in the assessment 
book the amount of the tax to be paid, and notifies each 
taxpayer, by mail, how much his taxes are. 

Collection of Taxes. —The county treasurer is the col¬ 
lector of taxes, 2 and each property owner must pay his 
taxes on or before the thirtieth of November. If the taxes 
are not paid at that time, a penalty equal to ten per cent, 
of the amount of the taxes is added, and interest at the 
rate of one per cent, a month until the taxes are paid. 

Tax Sales. —On a day appointed, in the month of Janu¬ 
ary, the county treasurer sells at public auction all real 
estate upon which the taxes have not been paid, or which 
belongs to persons who have not paid the taxes due on 
their personal property. The property goes to the person 
who offers to take the least part of it in return for paying 
the whole of the tax, penalty, and interest due. 3 At any 
time after the first Monday in February, if anyone has 
failed to pay the taxes on his personal property, the treas¬ 
urer may seize and sell so much of that personal property 
as may be necessary to get money enough to pay the taxes. 

Inheritance Tax. —Besides the poll and property tax 
there is also a tax known as the inheritance tax. This tax 

1 The road tax may be from one to three mills, the poor tax not more 
than two mills. 

2 For the convenience of taxpayers, state, eitv and school district taxes 
are also apportioned by the county clerk and collected by the county treas¬ 
urer at the same time as the county tax. 

3 The owner has three years in which to redeem real estate sold for 
taxes. 


14 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


does not yield very much at first in a newly settled state, 
but in course of time it will come to be an important source 
of income. The payment of any tax is apt to be regarded 
as more or less of a hardship, because it is difficult to ar¬ 
range a tax which does not to some extent discourage some 
form of industry. An inheritance tax is probably less open 
to this objection than any other form of tax that has been 
tried. The fact that a tax will be levied on a man’s estate 
when he dies does not check in the least his disposition to 
accumulate a fortune while he is alive; and as for the people 
who receive an inheritance, they have reason to be grateful 
that they get anything at all to which they really have no 
claim, and cannot therefore reasonably complain if a small 
percentage is retained by the government. Furthermore, a 
very great amount of personal property escapes all taxation 
during the lifetime of the owner, because of the ease with 
which it may often be concealed from the assessor. An in¬ 
heritance tax makes sure that it will be taxed at least once 
in each generation. 

There is, however, a great difference between taxing 
widows and young children on the property which the head 
of the family had saved for the express purpose of sup¬ 
porting them after his death, and taxing those who are not 
dependent on the care of the deceased person. The law 
therefore exempts from the inheritance tax estates of less 
than $7,500 when left to the immediate family and descend¬ 
ants of the deceased, and levies only one per cent, on the 
excess over $7,500. Estates left to others are taxed five 
per cent, if they exceed $500.* 

Licenses. —Besides the revenue derived from taxation the 
county also exacts a license fee from persons and corpora- 

1 Only two-fifths of the Inheritance tax goes to the county, and is used 
exclusively for school purposes; the rest goes to the state. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


15 


tions carrying on certain occupations in the county. The 
amount varies from ten dollars to $660 per year, according 
to the character and magnitude of the occupation. 1 

The expense of constructing drains may be met by a spe¬ 
cial tax on owners of real estate, in proportion to the benefit 
derived by each from the drain. 

Fees and Fines. —The county gets all fees collected by 
the sheriff, the county clerk, the clerk of the district court, 
and the treasurer. Fines, unless the law provides otherwise, 
go into the school fund. 

Public Debt. —If it is not possible to obtain, from all 
these sources, enough money to meet the expenses of the 
county, the board of commissioners may borrow money (not 
to exceed an amount equal to five per cent, of the value 
of all the taxable property in the county), issuing bonds 
pledging the payment of the principal and interest. Not 
more than ten thousand dollars can be borrowed for one 
purpose, however, without the approval of a majority of the 
voters of the county at a special election. Whenever bonds 
are issued, the commissioners must levy, every year, an addi¬ 
tional tax sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds, and to 
provide a fund 2 for the payment of the principal when it 
becomes due. 

County Expenditures. —The expenditure of county money 
is all under the control of the board of commissioners. No 
money can be taken from the county treasury except to meet 
some expenditure authorized by the board. Whenever a 
person wishes to get money from the county, he must pre¬ 
sent a bill showing that he has performed services or fur¬ 
nished goods ordered by the board. 3 If the board approve 

1 One-half of the amount collected for licenses goes to the state. 

2 Such a fund is called a sinking fund. 

3 In counties which have an auditor this officer must certify to the cor¬ 
rectness of a hill before it can be approved by the board. 




16 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


the bill, they order the clerk to draw and give to the claim¬ 
ant a warrant on the treasurer for the amount due. This 
warrant is a paper which directs the treasurer to pay to the 
person named the amount indicated, and tells him out of 
what fund to take the money. To guard against fraud, the 
clerk gives the treasurer a list of all the warrants he has 
drawn. 

When a warrant is presented to the treasurer, he pays the 
money, if there is any in the fund indicated. If not, he 
endorses on the warrant, “Not paid for want of funds,” 
and the warrant then bears six per cent, interest till there 
is money in the treasury to pay it. The treasurer keeps 
books which show the facts in regard to all the receipts and 
expenditures, and the condition of the different funds. 


CHAPTER III. 


ELECTIONS. 

At the outset of our study it was seen that three things 
are necessary when people are going to co-operate. We 
have now seen, 1st, how it is decided in a county what shall 
be done; 2d, how the expense is met. It remains to be 
seen, 3d, how the various tasks are assigned to the different 
persons. 

Some of the assigning of tasks is done directly by the 
people of the county. Much of it is also done by the board 
of commissioners. They appoint the road supervisors, the 
road viewers, the county physician, the keeper of the poor 
farm, already mentioned, and the judges of election yet 
to be described. Besides this they fill all vacancies which 
may occur in places for which persons are regularly 
chosen by the people, except vacancies in the board 
itself. 1 

The people of the county directly decide to whom shall be 
assigned the tasks of being county clerk, sheriff, treasurer, 
superintendent of schools, surveyor, assessor, public adminis¬ 
trator, county attorney, coroner, clerk of the district court, 
auditor, justice of the peace, and constable. 2 They also, 
as we have seen, select the county commissioners, who are 
their representatives, and they select, besides, their repre¬ 
sentatives in the government of the state. This brings us 
to the subject of elections. 

1 Vacancies on the board of commissioners are filled by appointments 
made by the judge of the district court. 

2 School matters are deferred to a later chapter. 

17 


lg CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 

There are three things especially important about elec¬ 
tions : 1st, that only those persons should vote who are 
really voters of the county; 2d, that there should be suit¬ 
able candidates to choose from; and 3d, that the voter should 
have a chance to vote in perfect secrecy, so as to be able 
to make a free choice without fear or compulsion. 

Registration.—To attain the first end we have a system 
of registration. The county clerk keeps in his office a book 
known as the “great register,” in which he records the name 
and address of every voter in the county, and the precinct 
in which he resides, together with his age, occupation, and 
some other data which may aid in identifying him. Every 
voter, in order to be registered, must come personally 1 to the 
court house and give the clerk, under oath, all the informa¬ 
tion required to be entered on the register. He may do this 
whenever it is convenient for him, except that the register is 
closed for the last thirty days before every general election, 
and ten days before every municipal and school election. 

When a voter has once been registered, he need never regis¬ 
ter again so long as he resides in the same precinct, if he 
votes at every general election. But if, for any reason, he 
fails to vote at any general election, his name is removed 
from the register, and he cannot vote until he has been 
registered again. If a voter removes from the precinct, he 
may make an affidavit to this effect, endorsed by two free¬ 
holders, and file it with the county clerk, 2 whose duty it then 
is to transfer his registration to the precinct into which the 
voter has moved. 

To be a voter one must be a male 3 citizen of the United 

1 Voters residing more than ten miles from the court house may regis¬ 
ter by subscribing to the proper affidavit before any notary or justice of 
the peace, with two freeholders as witnesses, and sending this affidavit 
to the county clerk. 

2 If the voter has removed into another county, he files this affidavit 
with the clerk of the county into which he has moved. 

8 Female citizens having the other qualifications mentioned above may 
vote at school elections. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


19 


States, 1 twenty-one years old or more, and a resident of 
Montana one year and of the county thirty days before the 
time of the election, and pardoned if he has ever been con¬ 
victed of felony; but no idiot or insane person can vote. 

The completed registry list is published, and any voter 
may, up to five days before the election, challenge any name— 
that is, state reasons for believing the person not to be quali¬ 
fied to vote. The clerk then sends to the election judges in 
each precinct the list of registered voters of that precinct, 
noting the names of all who have been challenged. 

No one can vote whose name is not in the registry list, 
and those who have been challenged must prove to the judges 
that they have the required qualifications, before they can 
vote. 

Candidates.—The nomination of candidates is a matter 
which requires a good deal of explanation. It is managed 
mainly through political parties. Political parties are volun¬ 
tary organizations of voters who work together to achieve 
political ends. In this country political parties are based 
almost wholly on differences of opinion about the proper 
policies to be pursued by the government of the United States. 
It is true that in a state election there is sometimes a very 
clear contrast between the courses desired by opposing political 
parties in regard to state matters, but as a rule most people 
vote in state elections and even in county elections for people 
who agree with them in regard to national politics. This may 
seem rather strange, and indeed nobody ever has been able 
to make a thoroughly logical explanation of the fact; but it 
is a fact nevertheless. 

So, even in county elections, as a rule, the voters of each 
political party have their candidates. In Montana there 

1 Read the first clause of the XIVth amendment to the constitution of 
the United States to see who are citizens of the United States, and look 
up the subject “Naturalization,” on page 178. 


20 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


are in almost every instance democratic candidates and repub¬ 
lican candidates, and frequently other candidates as well. 
Sometimes even the members of a party are not able to agree, 
and two factions of the same party have separate sets of 
candidates. Sometimes two parties, neither of which has 
enough votes to carry a county alone, come to an agreement 
whereby one party selects candidates for some of the county 
offices and the other selects candidates for the other offices. 
Then each “endorses” the candidates selected by the other. 
This is known as “fusion,” 1 and, by combining the votes of 
two parties, sometimes results in candidates being elected who 
would not have been elected if they had been the candidates 
of only one party. 

Nominations.—To select the candidates, the voters of each 
political party in a county hold a public meeting called a 
caucus, or else those of each precinct meet and select dele¬ 
gates, in proportion to their numbers, and these delegates 
then hold a meeting called a convention. The caucus or 
convention, as the case may be, meets from twenty to sixty 
days before the election, selects candidates, and files their 
names with the county clerk. The caucus or convention 
also selects several persons as a “central committee,” who 
attend to the holding of public meetings and other means of 
persuading people to vote for their candidates, and who 
arrange the time and place for the next convention. They 
are usually authorized also to select other candidates to take 
the place of any who may decline the nomination. 2 

Candidates may also be nominated by petitions 3 signed by 

1 In Montana the most numerous instances of fusion have been between 
the democratic and people’s party (often called the “populist”), though in 
some counties the republicans have occasionally fused with other parties. 

2 This is especially necessary in connection with fusion agreements. 
These are often managed by the central committees of the two parties. 

3 Under the present law this is the only way in which candidates for 
judicial offices may be nominated. The object is to separate the choice 
of judges from party politics as much as possible. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


21 


a number of voters equal to at least five per cent, of the 
number of votes cast for the successful candidate at the last 
preceding election. 

Primary Elections.—While this method of selecting can¬ 
didates by party conventions is the one most commonly 
employed in other states, as well as in Montana, it often 
fails to give satisfaction. Persons who are candidates or who 
have some strong interest in the choice of a certain candi¬ 
date, are sometimes able to influence the delegates to do 
differently from what the persons who elected them wish, 
with the result that the candidates who are chosen by the 
convention are very unsatisfactory to the voters of the party. 
This has led in some states to the enactment of what is 
known as a primary election law. This provides for an 
election at which each voter should indicate his preference 
among the different persons who might be willing to be candi¬ 
dates of his party. Those receiving the most votes would then 
be the candidates. 

Election Officers.—The board of commissioners divides the 
county into a convenient number of election precincts, and 
locates a polling place in each precinct. At its last meeting 
before the election, the board appoints five judges for each 
precinct in which there are a hundred voters, and three 
judges in the smaller precincts. Not more than three judges, 
and in the smaller precincts not more than two, may be of 
the same political party. The judges choose two persons to 
act as clerks. 

After the nominations have been made, the county clerk 
has ballots printed, containing the names of all the candi¬ 
dates. Those of any one party are all printed in the same 
column, with the name of the party at the top. If any ques¬ 
tion is to be submitted to the voters, this question is also 
printed on the ballots. 


22 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


The day for election is the Tuesday next after the first 
Monday of November in each even-numbered year. The 
polls are open from eight in the morning to six in the 
evening. 

Voting.—When a voter enters the polling place, one of the 
judges takes a rubber stamp and stamps on the back of a 
ballot the words “Official Ballot,” together with the name 
of the precinct and county, the date, and the name of the 
county clerk. He then hands this ballot to the voter, who 
takes it to a screened booth and there privately marks X in 
the square at the left of the name of every candidate for 
whom he wishes to vote. 1 If he wants to vote for a person 
whose name is not printed on the ballot, he may write the 
name and mark X before it. 

The voter then folds the ballot so that the official stamp 
is in sight, but the names concealed. This makes it sure 
that the ballot is the one given him by the judge, but pre¬ 
vents anyone from seeing how he has voted. He then hands 
the ballot to the judge and calls out his own name. One of 
the clerks finds the name on the list furnished by the regis¬ 
try agent, and writes “voted” against it. The other clerk 
writes the voter’s name in a blank book called the poll book. 
The judge then puts the ballot into the ballot box. 

Canvassing the Votes—When the polls have been closed, 
the judges proceed immediately, in the presence of the by¬ 
standers, to count the votes. The clerks then enter in the 
poll books the number of votes cast for each candidate, and 
these books are sent to the county clerk. 

Within ten days after the election, the board of commis¬ 
sioners meet as a board of canvassers, 2 open the returns 

1 If he is unable to mark his ballot, he may have the aid of two judges 
of different political parties. 

2 In case any of the commissioners are absent, their places are taken by 
the treasurer, the assessor, or the sheriff. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


23 


from all the precincts, ascertain the total number of votes 
cast for each candidate in all the precincts, and declare the 
result. The person receiving a larger number of votes than 
any other candidate for the same office is elected. The county 
clerk immediately makes out and delivers to the persons 
elected certificates of their election. 

The Australian Ballot.—The kind of ballot which is in 
use in Montana and many other states is known as the 
Australian ballot, because something very much like it was 
used in Australia before it was tried in this country. For¬ 
merly a ballot contained only the names of the candidates 
of one party. Consequently there were as many kinds of 
ballots as there were parties, and bystanders could easily 
see by watching which kind of ballot the voter put into the 
box. Then if the voter wished to vote for some candidate 
of another party, he could do so only by scratching out 
the name on his ballot 1 and writing in the other name, or 
pasting another piece of paper over it. All this was likely to 
be watched by bystanders who were anxious to find out 
how he voted. Then, as the ballots were printed by the 
different candidates, a voter could get hold of as many as 
he wanted, and sometimes managed to slip more than one 
into the ballot box. Now, under the Australian system, the 
ballots, when folded, all look just alike. Furthermore, a 
voter cannot get hold of more than one ballot, for the judge 
in handing the voter a ballot, makes only one impression 
with his rubber stamp, and if any ballots without the im¬ 
pression of the rubber stamp are found in the ballot box, 
the judges throw them out and do not count them. 

Another advantage of the Australian ballot is that it 
helps to call the voter’s attention to the candidates of all 

i This shows the origin of the popular expression to “scratch” a ticket, 
meaning to vote against some of the candidates of one’s party, in contrast 
to voting a “straight” ticket, i. e., one that has not been changed. 


24 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


the parties, since their names are all printed on the ballot. 
This purpose is partly defeated when a circle is printed at 
the top of each column, for a voter to mark and so indicate 
his desire to vote for all the candidates in the column. 
Many voters will then make a mark in the circle over the 
name of their party, without stopping to look over the 
names of the different candidates. Another objection to the 
circle is that it makes the voting less secret; for if people 
notice that a voter is in the marking booth but a second or 
two, they can be sure he voted a “straight” ticket, by mak¬ 
ing a mark in the circle, because it would have taken him 
much longer to mark the name of every candidate, which 
he would have had to do if he voted for some persons of 
other parties; but without the circle it takes just as long 
to mark a ballot one way as the other. The people of Mon¬ 
tana tried the ballot with a circle for some years, but very 
wisely decided to dispense with the circle. 

In one respect, however, the ballot used in Montana is 
still inferior to the genuine Australian ballot. The latter, 
instead of having the names arranged in columns according 
to parties, groups together under the name of each office 
the names of all the candidates for that office, arranged in 
alphabetical order and with the party designation after the 
name of each candidate. This makes it still more certain 
that the voter will not overlook any candidate, but will 
really exercise an intelligent choice. Then, too, this arrange¬ 
ment does not give an advantage to any particular party, as 
the column arrangement does. 

The Recall.—The usual custom in this country has been 
to elect public officials for definite terms, and when the 
terms expire, (except in a few cases where the constitution 
forbids reelection,) the people consider whether it is better 
to reelect the same person, or to choose some one else. It 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


25 


sometimes happens, however, that when a man has been 
elected, feeling perfectly secure of his position for a long 
time to come, he has utterly disregarded the wishes of 
those who elected him and has grossly betrayed their inter¬ 
ests. No matter how dissatisfied the people might be, how¬ 
ever, there was no way to prevent him from serving out 
the whole term, unless he could be convicted of some grave 
crime. 

In the earlier history of this country this was not so 
serious a matter, for it was then considered essential to 
the preservation of democracy, that elections be frequent, 
and very few officials were chosen for more than one year 
at a time. More recently, however, both from a desire to 
diminish the expense of so many elections, and to enable 
governmental policies to have a more comprehensive trial, 
there has been a marked tendency toward longer terms. 
Few officials are now chosen for less than two years, a very 
large number are elected for four years, and some for six 
or even a longer term. 

To preserve the undoubted benefits of the longer terms, 
and at the same time to prevent people from continuing in 
office after their services have ceased to be satisfactory, sev¬ 
eral states have provided for what is known as the recall. 1 
This plan permits voters at any time to present a petition 
for a “recall election” for any official. If the petition is 
signed by the requisite number of voters, an election is held. 
If some other person receives a larger number of votes than 
the official, this person takes his place; otherwise the official 
continues in office. 2 

1 It should not be supposed that the recall is a new invention. To 
quote but a single instance, more than a hundred and thirty years ago 
all the delegates in the Congress of the Confederation were subject to 
recall at any time when their states preferred to replace them with 
others. 

2 The present laws of Montana make no provision for the recall except 
in city government under the commission plan. See page 40. 


26 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Voting Machines.—Machines have been invented which 
enable each voter to record his vote by pushing a knob for 
each candidate. This he does in perfect secrecy, as only one 
voter is admitted at a time. The machines work very much 
on the same principle as a cash register, but lock automati¬ 
cally as soon as a voter has voted, and cannot be unlocked 
till he leaves and another voter enters. A great advantage 
is that the entire result is shown as soon as the last voter 
has voted. The law requires these machines to be used in 
first-class counties and cities, and permits their use in other 
counties and cities. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE OFFICERS OF THE COUNTY. 

Every voter in a county 1 is eligible to any county office, 2 
except that only a lawyer can be county attorney, and no 
person can be county treasurer who has just held that office 
for the two preceding terms. 

County officers serve for two years, except the clerks of 
the district courts, whose terms are four years. Their terms 
begin on the first Monday of January next after their elec¬ 
tion, except the treasurer, whose term begins on the first 
Monday of March. 3 

Before entering upon the duties of his office every county 
official takes an oath to support the constitutions of the 
United States and Montana, and to discharge the duties of 
his office with fidelity, and declares that he has not violated 
any election law and will not accept any bribe. He also 
files a bond, executed either by friends of his or by an 
indemnity company, to an amount specified by law, in which 
the bondsmen promise to make good any loss which the 
county might suffer by the dishonesty or negligence of the 
official. His bond is subject to the approval of the judge 
of the district court. 

All county officers perform their duties under the direc¬ 
tion of the board of commissioners, to whom they must 

1 A woman may be superintendent of schools if she has the other quali¬ 
fications of voters except that of sex. 

2 An auditor must have resided in the county for two years. 

8 This is in order to enable the treasurer to complete the tax sales, 
described on page 13, before the close of his term. 

27 




28 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


make their reports, 1 and who may examine their accounts 
at any time, 2 and direct their prosecution for any delin¬ 
quencies that may appear. They must keep their offices at 
tlie county seat, and the sheriff, county clerk, clerk of the 
district court, treasurer, and attorney must have their offices 
open daily at least from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. No county 
officer may leave the county without the permission of the 
board of commissioners, and this permission cannot be 
granted for more than sixty days. 

If there is more work in connection with a county office 
than the person elected or appointed can perform alone, he 
may appoint deputies, whose salaries are determined by the 
board of commissioners. 

The surveyor, coroner, public administrator, justices of 
the peace, and constables are compensated by fees paid by 
those for whom their services are performed. Jurors, wit¬ 
nesses, and judges and clerks of election, are paid in pro¬ 
portion to the work required of them. The keeper of the 
county poor farm and the county physician are compensated 
in accordance with contracts made annually with the board 
of commissioners. 

Other county officers receive fixed salaries. Counties are 
classified according to the assessed valuation of taxable prop¬ 
erty, as follows : 3 

Valuation $30,000,000 or over, counties of the 1st class. 

Valuation $20,000,000 to $30,000,000, counties of the 2d class. 

1 Many of these reports are published in the newspapers, and form very 
valuable material for illustrative study by a class. 

2 The auditor, in counties which have such an officer, examines the 
books and accounts of all the other county officers, and reports thereon at 
every regular meeting of the board of commissioners. See, also, page 67. 

3 On the basis of assessed valuation in 1910 counties are classified as 
follows: 1st class, Silver Bow ; 2d, Cascade, Lewis and Clark, Yellow¬ 
stone ; 3d, Chouteau, Custer, Fergus, Missoula ; 4th, Gallatin; 5th, Deer 
Lodge, Flathead, Musselshell, Park, Rosebud, Teton, Valley ; 6th, Beaver¬ 
head, Blaine, Carbon, Dawson, Hill, Lincoln, Madison, Meagher, Powell, 
Ravalli, Sweet Grass; 7th, Broadwater, Granite, Jefferson, Sanders. 
This classification holds good till January, 1913. The classification of 
any county is subject to change every two years if there is sufficient 
change in the assessed valuation of taxable property. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


29 


Valuation $15,000,000 to $20,000,000, counties of the 30 class. 
Valuation $11,000,000 to $15,000,000, counties of the 4th class. 
Valuation $8,000,000 to $11,000,000, counties of the 5th class. 
Valuation $5,000,000 to $8,000,000, counties of the 6th class. 
Valuation $3,000,000 to $5,000,000, counties of the 7th class. 
Valuation under $3,000,000, counties of the 8th class. 

The salaries of the county officers are as follows : x 

CLASSES. 


1st 2d 3d 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 

Treasurer.$3,500 $3,000 $3,000 $2,500 $2,500 $2,000 $1,800 $1,500 

Sheriff . 4,500 3,500 3,500 2,750 2,750 2,250 2,000 1.800 

Assessor . 3,000 2,500 2,250 2,000 1,800 1,500 1,200 1.000 

County Clerk. ... 3,500 3,000 2,750 2,500 2,000 2,000 1,800 1,200 

Auditor 2 . 2,500 2,000 1,750 

Clerk Dist. Ct... 3,500 3,000 2,750 2,500 2,000 1,800 1,200 1,200 

County Atty- 3,000 2,500 2,500 2,000 2,000 1,500 1,200 1,000 

Supt. Schools... 2,000 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,200 800 600 


Any county officer may be removed from office if con¬ 
victed in the district court of misconduct or malfeasance in 
office. 

1 The salary of the county attorney is paid one-half by the county and 
one-half by the state. 

2 Only counties of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class have auditors. 








CHAPTER V. 


THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 

In taking up the subject of city government, the question 
will naturally arise what need there is for city government.. 
All the people of Montana are within the jurisdiction of the 
state government, and of the government of some county 
and of some school district, but only about two-fifths of 
them have anything to do with any city government. Why 
should two-fifths of the people have an additional govern¬ 
ment which the rest of the people get along without? 

Why City Government is Needed.—Let us recall the 
fundamental feature of all government, the systematic co¬ 
operation of a whole neighborhood to meet certain needs 
of the inhabitants. We may then note two things about 
thickly-settled communities. In the first place, where peo¬ 
ple live near together, they have many needs which are 
not felt at all by people who live a great distance apart. 
Chief among these needs is the protection against the selfish¬ 
ness of one’s neighbors. For example, it may make little 
difference to a rancher, if the owner of the next ranch builds 
a house so badly or uses it so carelessly that it burns down. 
The loss will fall chiefly upon the owner. If the premises 
are allowed to become filthy, their offensiveness and un¬ 
healthiness are felt mainly by the occupants. If one drives 
at a reckless speed along a country road, the chief danger 
is to himself and his team, but in the streets of a village 

30 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


31 


or of a crowded city the lives of many others are endan¬ 
gered. If the house next door bums down, my own house 
will be almost sure to take fire. If garbage is allowed to 
accumulate in a back yard, it becomes unbearable to the 
neighbors. So, whenever a good many people live closely 
together, they find it very desirable to combine their efforts 
to prevent careless and selfish people from doing great 
damage. 

Besides this, there are many needs which are felt alike 
by people living in country or city, but which it costs a 
great deal to provide for. It would be a fine thing for 
the people in the country to have the grounds lighted up at 
night, to have sidewalks to walk on, to have the roads 
sprinkled to keep down the dust; but all these things are 
so expensive that people can very seldom afford them except 
when a large number of persons can combine. Now it is 
when people live near together that it is easiest for them 
to combine their efforts. 

So people who live near together have greater need of 
co-operation, and it is also easier for them to do many things 
by co-operating than for people living far apart. 

Organizing Cities.—Now when people who live near to¬ 
gether wish to combine their efforts, or, in other words to 
establish city government, the law of Montana prescribes 
just how this may be done. A petition is drawn up, with 
a map of the proposed city, its name, a description of its 
limits and of the several wards into which it is to be divided. 
When this has been signed by at least fifty voters residing 
within the limits of the proposed city, it is presented to the 
county commissioners. Two things are to be ascertained; 
1st, whether there are people enough living near enough 
together to make it practicable for them to co-operate in 
this way. According to the law, there must be at least 300 



32 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


persons, and they must live near enough together so that 
the ratio of area to population is not more than one square 
mile to 500 inhabitants; 2d, it must be ascertained whether 
the people generally wish a city government. To determine 
the first, the board of commissioners appoint some one to 
take a census of the proposed city. If this proves satis¬ 
factory, the commissioners arrange to hold an election at 
which the voters of the proposed city vote “yes” or “no” on 
the question whether they wish to have a city government. 
If a majority vote “no,” nothing comes of it, but if a ma¬ 
jority vote “yes,” the commissioners appoint a time for elect¬ 
ing city officers. 

Additions.—Whenever the city council declares itself by 
resolution in favor of annexing to the city any contiguous 
platted tracts of land, the city clerk must publish a notice to 
that effect, and for a period of twenty days he must receive 
such written expressions of approval or disapproval as resi¬ 
dent freeholders of the proposed addition care to send. At 
the next regular meeting the clerk must present all these 
communications to the council, and the council, after duly 
considering them, may make the proposed addition to the 
city, unless the plan is disapproved by a majority of the free¬ 
holders resident in the territory proposed to be added. 

Classification. —Large cities need more officers than 
smaller ones, and some other differences are found to be 
desirable in their governments. Consequently the law groups 
cities into four classes. Those having more than 10,000 in¬ 
habitants are known as cities of the first class, those whose 
population is between 5,000 and 10,000 are called cities of 
the second class, those with from 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants, 
cities of the third class, and those whose population is be¬ 
tween 300 and 1,000 are called towns. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


33 


City Council.—City government is chiefly representative. 1 
The representative body is called a council, and is composed 
of aldermen. Cities are divided into districts called wards, 2 
and the voters of each ward choose two aldermen. To be 
eligible as alderman, one must be a qualified elector and 
tax-paying freeholder within the city, and a resident of the 
city at least two years, and of the ward in which he is elected 
at least one year. The aldermen serve two years, the term 
of one from each ward expiring each year. 

The matters with which city governments have to deal 
are very different from those that engage the attention of 
the national government. To prevent the affairs of the city 
from becoming mixed up with questions of national politics, 
the city election is held at a different time from the general 
election, and the time fixed is the first Monday in April. 

City Election.—At the city election, all qualified voters 
of the state may vote who have resided in the city six months 
and in any ward thirty days. The city election is conducted 
in substantially the same manner as the general election, 3 
except that the arrangements are made by the city council 
instead of the county commissioners. As in general elec¬ 
tions, only those who are registered can vote. 

Candidates for city offices are usually nominated by con¬ 
ventions, in the same manner as in county matters. Some¬ 
times these are conventions of political parties, but often, 
especially in the smaller cities, there is a general caucus at¬ 
tended by nearly all the voters of the city. When nomina¬ 
tions are made by such a caucus, the regular election amounts 
only to a formal ratification of the work of the caucus. 

1 Voters share directly in city government in deciding on bond issues, 
in electing officers and in the initiative and referendum. (See pages 
58, 59.) 

2 Cities of the first class have from four to ten wards, those of the 
second class from three to six, those of the third class from two to four, 
and towns two or three. 

3 See Chapter III. 


34 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


In alternate years a mayor is also chosen at the city elec¬ 
tion. 

The terms of all persons elected at a city election begin on 
the first Monday of the next May, and last two years. 

The Mayor.—The mayor presides at meetings of the coun¬ 
cil, and in case of a tie, he has the deciding vote. He may 
also disapprove the whole or any part of a resolution or 
ordinance passed by the council. If he does this, the meas¬ 
ure will not go into effect unless the council passes it again 
by a two-thirds vote. 

Power of the Council.—A majority of the aldermen con¬ 
stitute a quorum of the council. The council makes rules 
for its own proceedings, and has power to compel the at¬ 
tendance of members. It may punish them for improper 
conduct, and, by a two-thirds vote, expel a member. It may 
fill vacancies in its own number, and in any elective office. 
It chooses one of its own members as president, to take the 
place of the mayor in his absence. 

In an introductory paragraph it was shown that the object 
of city government is to enable the people of a city to 
meet those needs which can best be met by combined effort. 
What these things are will differ in different cities, depend¬ 
ing partly on the size, age, and wealth of the city, and 
partly on a great variety of local conditions. What these 
needs are in any particular city can be learned by studying 
the city ordinances, 1 and the proceedings of the city council. 
These are usually printed from time to time in some news¬ 
paper in the city. A great aid to this study is a scrap-book 
in which are pasted the newspaper clippings containing the 
proceedings of the city council, and the new ordinances 

1 Ordinance is a name usually applied to a law passed by a city council. 
Cities generally provide for a number of printed copies of their ordinances, 
and a reasonable supply for a school may sometimes be obtained by the 
courtesy of city officials. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


35 


adopted, for a series of months, or, if possible, for several 
years. 

Taking such a scrap-book, and a book of ordinances, it 
is a useful exercise for a class to spend some time in an 
attempt to classify the different matters of business which 
have engaged the attention of the city council. In Mon¬ 
tana cities it will probably be found that these matters can 
all be classified under some one of the following heads: 
(1) Control of the streets and alleys, opening or closing 
them, providing improvements, cleaning and lighting, regu¬ 
lating their use and preventing their obstruction; (2) pro¬ 
tection of the public health; (3) control of markets, with 
the inspection and measurement of products; (4) suppres¬ 
sion of fires, restriction of dangerous occupations, and regu¬ 
lating of building; (5) preservation of peace and suppres¬ 
sion of whatever is offensive to public morals; (6) regu¬ 
lation of the keeping of animals, and prevention of cruelty; 
(7) control of certain licensed occupations, with a view to 
preventing fraud and other evil practices; (8) supplying 
water and light; (9) maintaining a public library; (10) es¬ 
tablishing and maintaining public baths and parks. 

These are some of the things which experience has shown 
the people they can profitably manage through city govern¬ 
ment. But other things may be undertaken whenever the 
people of a city find them to be of advantage. Only the 
city government must not do anything that would conflict 
with the constitution of the United States or with the consti¬ 
tution or the laws of the state. This is only another way of 
saying, 1st, that the city government can control only such 
matters as directly affect only the city itself. For example, 
a city cannot coin money, or levy duties on imports, be¬ 
cause these things would affect everybody in other parts of 
the country who does business with the people of the city; 


36 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


2d, it is not very often that all the people of a city are 
perfectly agreed on all the enterprises that may be under¬ 
taken. The only way that many things can be done, is by 
a considerable number of persons yielding to the wishes of 
the majority, but there is great danger that serious injus¬ 
tice may be done in this way. It is hardly likely nowadays 
that three-fourths of the inhabitants of any region in this 
country would make actual slaves of the other one-fourth, 
though this very thing has happened in the past. There 
might, however, be danger that some of the people, specially 
impressed with the benefit to be derived from certain pub¬ 
lic enterprises, might take advantage of their power to com¬ 
pel others to contribute, to such an extent as to impoverish 
them. Hence the law places restrictions on the power of 
city governments in this respect. For it must be remem¬ 
bered that some public enterprises might benefit chiefly a 
part of the population. But all are obliged to share the 
cost. This is especially true when a city incurs a debt to 
be paid at a distant time. Those who have to pay the 
greater share of the debt may have no voice in the matter, 
and very little of the benefit. This leads us to the considera¬ 
tion of city finance. 

City Finance.—The council has power to levy taxes on 
all the polls and all the taxable property in the city, and 
to raise money by the sale of licenses. Income is also de¬ 
rived from fines paid by persons guilty of violating city 
ordinances. The charge for a license must not exceed the 
sum prescribed by the state law. The poll-tax must not 
exceed $3 per capita. The property tax for general pur¬ 
poses must not exceed one per cent. 1 of the assessed valuation 
of taxable property in the city. 



GOVEBNMENT OF MONTANA. 


37 


But a special tax 1 may be levied to support a library. 
Whenever a debt is incurred, additional taxes must be levied 
to pay the interest, and to establish a sinking fund for pay¬ 
ing the principal of the bonds. Certain public improve¬ 
ments may also be made, and the expense met by a “special 
assessment” against the owners of abutting property. For 
the erection of public buildings, construction of sewers, 
bridges, water-works or lighting plants, or the purchase of 
fire-apparatus, the council may incur a debt, if the plan is 
approved by a vote of the taxpayers. The total indebtedness 
must never exceed three per cent, of the assessed valuation 
of taxable property, except that an additional debt, not ex¬ 
ceeding ten per cent, of the valuation, may be incurred to 
construct a sewerage system or procure a water supply. 

Duties of the Mayor.—The mayor must cause the city 
ordinances to be executed, and may call upon citizens and 
militia to assist him in enforcing laws and preventing or 
extinguishing fires. For enforcing health and quarantine 
regulations, he has such power as may be vested in him by 
the ordinances, over places within five miles of the city 
limits. He communicates to the council statements of af¬ 
fairs, makes recommendations, and causes to be presented, 
once in three months, a full statement of the financial con¬ 
dition of the city. He may call special meetings of the 
council. He may also grant pardons and remit fines and 
forfeitures for offenses against city ordinances. He super¬ 
vises the discharge of official duties by all subordinate offi¬ 
cers, and may require of them an exhibit of their books and 
papers. In towns all the officers are nominated and, with 
the consent of the council, appointed by the mayor. They 

1 This tax must not exceed three mills. In cities where the valuation 
exceeds $750,000 the tax must not be more than two and one-half mills 
and where the valuation exceeds $1,000,000 the tax is limited to two mills, 
but the tax can not be made more than one mill without submitting the 
question to a vote of the taxpayers. 


38 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


may also be suspended and, with the consent of the council, 
removed by him. The same is true in cities of the first 
three classes, except that the treasurer and police judge 
are elected by the voters at the same time as the mayor. 

Other Officers.—The other officers are, in towns, a treas¬ 
urer, a clerk, who is ex-officio assessor, and a marshal, who 
is ex-officio street commissioner. In cities there are an at¬ 
torney, a chief of police, and a clerk who, in second and 
third class cities, is ex-officio assessor. First class cities 
have, besides these officers, an assessor, a street commissioner, 
a jailor, a surveyor and, if there is a paid fire department, a 
chief and assistant engineer. Wherever there is a public 
library, the trustees are appointed by the mayor with the 
consent of the council. 

The clerk must record the proceedings of the council, sign 
ordinances, resolutions and contracts adopted, and licenses 
and commissions granted by the council, cause the ordi¬ 
nances to be published, keep a record of warrants issued, 
preserve all records and papers belonging to the city, and 
make copies of them when required, give notice of elections, 
and notify persons of their election or appointment. 

The attorney must be a person who is licensed to prac¬ 
tice law in the state. He holds his office for two years. It 
is his business to attend the police court and other courts, 
and prosecute on behalf of the city, to defend all suits in 
which the city is interested, to give legal advice to the 
mayor and council, and draw for the council any contract, 
resolution, or ordinance. 

The treasurer must receive moneys that come to the city, 
and pay them out on the warrant of the mayor, keep the 
accounts of the city, and present a monthly financial report 
to the council. 

The duties of the other city and town officers are pre- 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


39 


scribed by ordinance, and the council may add to the duties 
of these officers, and may consolidate one office with an¬ 
other. The council fixes the salaries of all city officers, but 
within limits prescribed by law. In towns the mayor and 
aldermen receive no salary. 

Problems of City Government.—The greatest difficulties 
in connection with government in this country have been 
encountered in the government of cities. The principal 
causes of bad city government have been, 1st, favoritism 
in appointments, especially on the police force; 2d, the very 
general practice of granting public franchises to private cor¬ 
porations; and 3d, the contract system on public works. 

As most cities in Montana are so small that all the people 
know each other fairly well, there is a good deal of neigh¬ 
bor spirit, and less chance for some of these evils to become 
very aggravated than in larger cities. The small size of 
the cities also gives little occasion for very costly public 
works in connection with which there is strong temptation 
to corruption, and very few franchises of great value have 
been granted to private corporations. 1 

As a further safeguard, the Eighth Legislative Assembly 
enacted a law which forbids city councils to grant any fran¬ 
chises whatever until the proposed franchise has been ap¬ 
proved by a majority vote of the resident freeholders of the 
city at a special election, and the Tenth Legislative Assembly 
extended the initiative and referendum 2 to city government. 

City government in Montana as it has been described is, 
in its main features, essentially like that to be found, at 

1 Street-car companies hold public franchises in Butte, Great Falls, 
Helena, Anaconda and Bozeman. None of these franchises is of great 
value. Private corporations maintain waterworks in Butte, Anaconda, 
Missoula and KaUspell. But the cities of Great Falls, Bozeman, Helena, 
Lewistown, Miles City, White Sulphur Springs, Red Lodge, Philipsburg, 
Fort Benton, Glendive, Dillon, and Chinook operate their own water¬ 
works. Miles City and Townsend operate electric light plants, but other 
cities have granted light franchises to private corporations. Private com¬ 
panies operate gas plants in Butte, Great Falls and Helena. 

8 See pages 54, 55. 


40 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


least in smaller cities, throughout the country. Dissatis¬ 
faction with government of this sort has almost everywhere 
been steadily increasing in recent years, and much earnest 
study has been given to the problem of improving city 
government. 

Commission Government. — A plan known as commis¬ 
sion government was put in operation first in the city of 
Galveston, Texas, in 1901, and has since been copied, in 
its essential features, by nearly two hundred cities in more 
than thirty different states. In Montana the twelfth legisla¬ 
tive assembly enacted a law permitting the people of cities 
to adopt the commission government in place of the older 
form. 

This law provides that on petition of 25 per cent, of the 
voters in a city, the council shall submit the question of 
reorganizing the city government at a special election. If 
the majority vote in favor of the commission plan, an elec¬ 
tion is held at which the voters elect a mayor and council- 
men 1 without any reference to wards. 2 These persons con¬ 
stitute the city councils with powers substantially as under 
the older plan. Besides this, the mayor has charge of the 
department of accounts, finance, and public property, one 
of the councilmen is superintendent of public safety and 
charity, and the other of streets, public improvements, and 
parks. 3 All other city officers are chosen by the council. 
The mayor and council are also subject to recall. 4 

The chief advantages claimed for this plan are that the 
voters have to select only a small number of officials, and 
can therefore more thoroughly acquaint themselves with their 

1 In cities of less than 25,000 population there are two councilmen be¬ 
sides the mayor; in larger cities four. 

2 Candidates must be nominated by primaries or petition. See page 21. 

8 If there are four councilmen the last of these departments is divided 

into two, and another department is made by relieving the mayor of the 
financial accounts. 

4 See page 24. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


41 


qualifications; the responsibility is centered in the hands 
of so few persons that it is easier for the people to know 
who is to blame if conditions prove unsatisfactory; with the 
work of the city thus centered in the hands of a small num¬ 
ber of officials, these persons can afford to give more time 
and attention to their work. The primary system, the initia¬ 
tive, the referendum, and the recall have also contributed 
largely to the popularity of commission government, though 
of course these features may be embodied also in the older 
form. 

Missoula has already begun a trial of commission govern¬ 
ment, and several other Montana cities are considering the 
proposition. 


are the cities and towns in Montana, with their popula- 


The following 
tion in 1910 : 

FIRST CLASS CITIES 

Anaconda . 10,134 

Billings . 10,031 

Butte . 39,165 

Great Falls . 13,948 

Helena . 12,515 

Missoula. 12,869 

SECOND CLASS CITIES 

Bozeman . 5,107 

Kalispell . 5,549 

Livingston . 5,359 

THIRD CLASS CITIES 

Belt . 1,158 

Big Timber . 1,022 

Deer Lodge . 2,570 

Dillon . 1,835 

Forsyth . 1,398 

Fort Benton. 1,004 

Glasgow. 1,158 

Glendive. 2,428 

Hamilton . 2,240 

Havre . 3,624 

Lewistown . 2,992 

Miles City . 4,697 

Philipsburg . 1,109 

Ked Lodge. 4,860 

Roundup . 1,513 

Walkerville . 2,491 

Whitetish . 1,479 

Virginia City (pop. 467) is still 
granted by the territorial legislature. 


TOWNS. 

Bear Creek. 302 

Belgrade. 561 

Bridger. 514 

Chinook . 780 

Columbia Falls. 601 

Columbus. 521 

Conrad. 888 

Culbertson. 528 

Eureka . 603 

Harlem . 383 

Harlowton. 770 

Joliet . 389 

Laurel . 806 

Libby . 630 

Malta . 433 

Moore . 573 

Neihart . 268 

Plains. 481 

Pony . 369 

Sheridan . 399 

Sidney. 345 

Stevensville . 796 

Thompson Falls . 325 

Three Forks . 674 

Townsend. 759 

Twin Bridges . 491 

Victor. 374 

White Sulphur Springs. 417 

Whitehall . 417 

Wibaux . 487 


governed under a special charter 


























































CHAPTER VI. 


THE STATE. 

We have seen how people have found it desirable to unite 
in comparatively small groups to attain some objects, in 
larger groups to attain others. We now come to a group 
larger yet, and in many respects the most important in our 
whole political system —the State. 

Importance of the State.—There are a great many ends 
which people accomplish through the state—far more than 
are accomplished by the local governments on the one 
hand, or by the national government on the other. If we 
should undertake to enumerate all the different things which 
people do by joining their efforts together in this unit, even 
a brief explanation would fill the whole of a little book like 
this. And even if we should make such a list today, it would 
be very likely to be incomplete next year. For changes are 
frequently made, as the result of experience or for purposes 
of experiment, and for reasons which will presently be ex¬ 
plained, plans for co-operating can be more easily changed 
in the case of the state than with any other political units. 

While we cannot undertake here a complete list of all that 
the state does, the following quotation from a famous book 
on political science may help us to realize how vast is the 
importance of the state: 

“All the civil and religious rights of our citizens depend 
upon state legislation; the education of the people is in 

42 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


43 


the care of the states; with them rests the regulation of 
the suffrage; they prescribe the rules of marriage, and the 
legal relations of husband and wife, of parent and child; 
they determine the powers of masters over servants and 
the whole law of principal and agent, which is so vital 
a matter in all business transactions; they regulate partner¬ 
ship, debt and credit, and insurance; they constitute all 
corporations, both private and municipal, except such as 
specially fulfil the financial or other specific functions of the 
federal government; they control the possession, distribu¬ 
tion and use of property, the exercise of trades, and all 
contract relations; and they formulate and administer all 
criminal law, except only that which concerns crimes com¬ 
mitted against the United States, on the high seas, or 
against the law of nations.” 1 

Contrast with County Government. —It is through the 
co-operation of the people of the whole state that the ar¬ 
rangements about county and city government, which we 
have already studied, have been made. Likewise it is only 
through the co-operation of the people of the whole state 
that any change in these arrangements can be made. 

Suppose, for example, that the people of some county 
should think two years too long a time for a county treas¬ 
urer to serve. They would be powerless to make a change 
by themselves. Only as the people of the whole state 
agreed to it could any change be made in the form of 
county government. The counties themselves are only sub¬ 
divisions of the state, and are arranged to suit the wishes 
of the people of the whole state. They may at any time 
form new counties 2 by cutting existing counties in two, or 

1 Wilson: The State, 2d edition, page 473. 

2 A law of 1911, however, provides for the formation of new counties 
without special action of the legislature. On petition of half the voters 




44 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


by cutting off parts from several adjacent counties and join¬ 
ing these parts to form a new county . 1 The state may 
also change the boundaries of counties by cutting any por¬ 
tion off one county and adding it on to another . 2 

Contrast with. City Government. —Similarly the whole 
matter of city government is under the control of the state. 
The arrangements for city government which we have been 
studying may be changed at any time by the people of the 
state, even though the people of any city might be opposed 
to the change. 

At present it is not the policy of the state to create new 
cities or change the boundaries of old ones, but to leave 
these changes to the people of each city, under regulations 
prescribed by the state. A different policy might be adopted 
if the people of the state preferred. In many states each 


in a proposed new county, the county commissioners must call a special 
election, and if sixty-five per cent, of the voters in the proposed new 
county vote in favor of the plan, the new county is organized. This law, 
however, forbids a new county to be formed in which the assessed valua¬ 
tion of taxable property is less than four million dollars, or where the 
value of property to be left in the old county will be less than five 
million dollars, or where the area of the old county will be reduced to less 
than 800 square miles of surveyed land. The boundaries of the new 
county must not run within eighteen miles of the town which is the 
county seat of the old county. Blaine and Hill counties were estab¬ 
lished in accordance with this law. 

1 When the state of Montana was organized in 1889 it comprised only 
sixteen counties, viz: Beaverhead, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Dawson, 
Deer Lodge, Fergus. Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, Madison, 
Meagher, Missoula, Park, Silver Bow and Yellowstone. In 1893 Flathead 
and Ravalli counties were formed from parts of Missoula county. Granite 
from part of Deer Lodge, Teton from part of Chouteau, and Valley from 
part of Dawson. In 1895 parts of Yellowstone, Park and Meagher coun¬ 
ties were taken to form Carbon and Sweet Grass counties. In 1897 Broad¬ 
water was formed from parts of Jefferson and Meagher counties. In 1901 
Powell county was formed by dividing Deer Lodge, and Rosebud by divid¬ 
ing Custer. In 1906 Sanders county was formed by dividing Missoula, 
and in 1909 Lincoln county was formed by dividing' Flathead. In 1911 
Musselshell county was formed from parts of Fergus, Meagher, and Yel¬ 
lowstone counties. In 1912 Blaine and Hill counties were formed by 
dividing Chouteau. 

2 In 1897 a part of Meagher county was annexed to Lewis and Clark 
and another part to Cascade county. In 1899 a part of Deer Lodge county 
was annexed to Flathead and another part to Lewis and Clark County. In 
1903 a part of Silver Bow county was annexed to Deer Lodge, a part of 
Lewis and Clark to Powell County, and a part of Chouteau to Cascade 
county. In 1911 a part of Madison county was annexed to Beaverhead 
and the boundary of Missoula and Sanders counties was slightly altered 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


45 


city has a special charter, 1 framed by the state legislature 
expressly for that city. Virginia City is still governed under 
a special charter, granted by the old territorial legislature 
of Montana, but the growing practice is for the state to enact 
a general law on the subject of city government, applicable 
to all cities in the state. 2 

State Sovereignty. —Now in regard to state government 
all this is very different. The state of Montana was origi¬ 
nally organized under the direction of the Congress of the 
United States, but now that the state has actually been 
established, there is no power outside of Montana which 
can divide the state or alter its boundaries, or make any 
change in its government. 3 This is what is meant when 
people talk about the “sovereignty” of the state. 

Limitations on the State. —There are, it is true, certain 
limitations on the power of a state. They may be summed 
up in a few words by saying that a state may not do any¬ 
thing in conflict with the constitution of the United States. 
Three sorts of things are forbidden to a state: 1st, control 
of foreign affairs and of relations with other states. It 
would obviously be impracticable for any one state alone 
to control these matters; 2d, the control of certain matters 
which it is very desirable to have uniform throughout the 
country, and which would probably be very diverse if each 
state managed them independently. Therefore a state is 
forbidden to coin money, emit bills of credit, make any¬ 
thing but gold and silver legal tender, or pass any law 

1 A charter is a document in which the sovereign power grants rights 
or privileges. It therefore differs from a constitution, which emanates 
from the people concerned, and not from some higher power. 

2 Part IV, Title III, of the Political Code of Montana, is a general char¬ 
ter for all cities in the state. 

3 Theoretically such a change might be made (through an amendment to 
the constitution of the United States) by the concurrent action of two- 
thirds of both houses of Congress and three-fourths of all the states. But 
as it has never been found possible to adopt an amendment affecting the 
powers of states except through civil war, this theoretical possibility need 
be no more than barely mentioned in an elementary treatise. 


46 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


impairing the obligation of contracts. These two classes of 
affairs—foreign and interstate relations, and matters which 
must be uniform throughout the country—are under the 
exclusive control of the Congress of the United States. 
There is a third class of things which are forbidden to 
the states because they are deemed subversive of liberty, 
and they are of course forbidden to Congress also. These 
are, to have any other than a republican form of govern¬ 
ment, to pass any bill of attainder or ex post facto law, 
to permit slavery, to deprive any person of life, liberty or 
property without due process of law, to deny to any person 
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, or 
to prohibit any citizen of the United States from voting 
because of his race, color or previous condition of servitude. 

While it takes some space to enumerate all these restric¬ 
tions, still it is evident on a little reflection, that in spite 
of these restrictions, a state is almost entirely free to man¬ 
age its own internal affairs in accordance with the wishes 
of its own citizens. 

The State of Montana.—Montana, except the portion 
west of the main range of the Rocky Mountains, was in¬ 
cluded in the Louisiana Purchase, obtained by President 
Jefferson from France in 1803. The western portion of 
Montana was included in the “Oregon country,” acquired 
by the United States through occupation and settlement. 
Both portions were united by Act of Congress of May 26, 
1864, establishing Montana Territory. 1 

1 The District of Louisiana was established by Congress March 26, 1804, 
embracing all the Louisiana Purchase outside the present state of Louis¬ 
iana. The name was changed to the Territory of Louisiana the following 
year, and to Missouri Territory in 1812. The northern part of this was 
organized as Nebraska Territory in 1854, and the northern part of this in 
turn set off as Dakota Territory in 1861. 

Oregon Territory was organized in 1848, and divided by the creation of 
Washington Territory in 1853. Idaho Territory, which was formed in 
1863 from parts of Washington and Dakota Territories, comprised the 
whole of Montana. It was by the division of Idaho in 1864 that Montana 
Territory was formed. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


47 


When Montana had had a separate territorial govern¬ 
ment for a quarter of a century, Congress passed an act, 
Feb. 22d, 1889, commonly known as the “Enabling Act,” 
to enable the people of Montana to form a constitution 1 
and state government and to be admitted to the union on 
an equal footing with the original states. 

The Enabling Act. —This act provided for an election 
to be held May 14th, 1889, in all the counties of Montana, 
to select delegates to a constitutional convention. This 
convention met at Helena, July 4th, 1889, and remained in 
session six weeks, forming a constitution. 2 An election 
was held Oct. 1st, 1889, at which the people of Montana 
were to decide whether to adopt this constitution, and select 
persons who would be state officers in case the constitution 
should be adopted. As the constitution was adopted, the 
president of the United States issued a proclamation, Nov. 
8th, 1889, declaring Montana admitted to the union, and 
the state government went into operation on that day. 3 

The State Government. —Like the county and city 
governments, the government of the state is chiefly repre¬ 
sentative; but just as in the county and city governments, 
so in the state government also the people participate directly 
in several important particulars. 

In the first place, the people themselves select all the 
judicial officers and the principal executive officers of the 
state. 

iA constitution is a document in which the people of a state set forth 
the plan to which their government is to conform. While the constitution 
provides how laws shall be made to carry out all the details of govern¬ 
ment, it does not itself contain nearly all these details. One can not get 
any adequate idea of local government in Montana from a mere study of 
the constitution. ^ 

2 This constitution is printed in full, pages 94-lol. 

8 In order to prevent confusion in the change from territorial to state 
government, this constitution provided that all territorial laws remain in 
force in the state until repealed, that cases pending in the territorial 
courts should be continued to settlement in the state courts, and that all 
obligations of the territory of Montana should be binding upon the state. 
See "Article XX, pages 144-148. 



48 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Second, the people decide on proposed amendments to the 
constitution. Amendments may be proposed by a two-thirds 
vote of both branches of the legislative assembly. Or two- 
thirds of both branches may propose the holding of a 
constitutional convention; if this proposal is ratified by a 
vote of the people, they choose representatives to such a 
convention, and this convention proposes amendments. In 
either case, the amendments do not take effect unless ratified 
by a vote of the people. The convention plan is the one 
which would be taken if a general revision of the constitu¬ 
tion w r ere necessary; the other plan is usual when only two 
or three sections of the constitution need to be amended. 1 

Third, the state cannot go into debt beyond $100,000, 
except in case of war to repel invasion or suppress insur¬ 
rection, nor levy a tax exceeding the rate mentioned in the 
chapter on state finance, 2 nor move the capital unless a 
majority of the voters favor the proposition. To change 
the capital requires a two-thirds vote. 

Finally, the power of initiative and referendum, described 
in the next chapter, 3 * * * * 8 enables the people to enact laws, and to 
reject laws which may have been enacted by the legislative 
assembly. 


1 Up to the present time (1912) six amendments have been made to the 
constitution—one in regard to the supreme court, proposed by the Sixth 
Legislative Assembly, and ratified at the general election in 1900 (see 

page 118), and one in regard to the terms of county commissioners. This 

was proposed by the Seventh Legislative Assembly, and adopted at the gen¬ 

eral election in 1902 (see page 139). The Eighth Legislative Assembly 
proposed an amendment adding three sections to Article XVIII (see page 

142), prohibiting the employment of children under sixteen years of age in 
mines, and making eight hours a day’s labor on public works, and in mills, 
smelters and mines. This amendment was adopted by a vote of the people 
at the general election in November, 1904. The Ninth Legislative Assem¬ 
bly proposed the “Initiative and Referendum” amendment, which now con¬ 
stitutes Section 1, of Article V (see page 100). It was adopted by the 
people at the general election in 1906. An amendment to Article XII, 
Section 14, relating to the care and management of public moneys, was 
proposed by the Tenth Legislative Assembly, and adopted at the election 

in 1908 (page 132). Section 9 of the same article was amended in 1910, 
as proposed by the Eleventh Legislative Assembly (page 130.) 

a Page 69. 

8 Pages 58, 59. 


CHAPTER VII. 


MAKING THE LAWS. 


While, as we have just seen, there are some matters 
which the people settle for themselves, the state government 
is largely representative. 

The Legislative Assembly.—The representative body is 
called the legislative assembly. It consists of two branches, 
known as the senate and the house of representatives. The 
senate is composed of one senator from each county; the 
house of representatives is made up of a number of repre¬ 
sentatives from each county, proportional to the population 
of the county. The present number of senators is of course 
thirty-one, but would be increased whenever a new county 
should be organized. The present number of representatives 
is eighty-five. 1 This number may be increased or dimin¬ 
ished at any time by the legislative assembly. It is usual 
to reapportion the representatives after a decennial census. 2 

At the general election already described 3 the voters in 
each county elect one senator and as many representatives 
as the county is entitled to. 4 

Representatives must be at least twenty-one and senators 


1 Silver Bow county elects twelve representatives. Cascade six, Lewis 
and Clark, Missoula, and Yellowstone each five, Chouteau, Fergus, and 
Flathead each four. Carbon, Custer, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Gallatin, and 

Valley each three, Madison, Park. Ravalli, Rosebud, and Teton each two, 
and Beaverhead, Blaine,. Broadwater, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Lincoln, 
Meagher, Musselshell, Powell, Sanders, and Sweet Grass each one. 

3 The present apportionment is at the rate of one representative for 
every 4,800 inhabitants or fraction over 2,400. 

3 Chapter III. 

4 When a vacancy occurs the governor of the state calls a special elec¬ 
tion in the county concerned to fill the vacancy. 

49 


50 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


twenty-four years of age, and both must be citizens of the 
United States and residents of their respective counties at 
least one year. No member of Congress and no state or 
federal office-holder can be a member of the legislative 
assembly. The senators’ terms are four .years and the 
representatives’ two years. The senators are not all elected 
at the same time. The intention of the constitution is that 
one-half shall be elected at one general election and the 
other half at the next, but by reason of a neglect of duty 
on the part of the legislative assembly, it has come about 
that fourteen are chosen at one election and seventeen at the 
other . 1 

The regular session 2 of the legislative assembly begins 
on the first Monday of January in each odd-numbered year, 
and lasts not more than sixty days. Special sessions may 
be held at any time on the call of the governor of the state, 
but only to consider subjects specified in the governor’s 
proclamation . 3 

Organization. —The lieutenant-governor of the state pre¬ 
sides in the senate, but to serve in his absence the senate 
selects one of its own members as president pro tempore. 
The house of representatives chooses one of its own members 
as speaker and another as speaker pro tempore. Each house 
chooses all its other officers . 4 


1 Broadwater, Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Flathead, Granite, Jefferson, 
Lincoln, Madison, Missoula, Ravalli, Rosebud, Sanders, Silver Bow, Teton, 
Valley and Yellowstone counties elected senators in 1910, and will elect 
again in 1914. Beaverhead, Blaine, Carbon, Custer, Dawson, Deer Lodge, 
Gallatin, Hill, Lewis and Clark, Meagher, Musselshell, Park, Powell and 
Sweet Grass counties elect senators in 1912, and again in 1916. 

2 These sessions are distinguished by numbers. For instance, the session 
held from Jan. 5th to March 5th, 1908, is known as the Eighth Session. 

3 Only two special sessions have ever been held in Montana—that of 
May 26, 1903, called to consider an appropriation for a state exhibit at the 
World’s Fair in St. Louis and to provide for the care of the capitol 
grounds, and that of Dec. 1, 1903, which passed the so-called “fair-trial” 
law. 

4 These are, for each house, a secretary, assistant secretary, journal 
clerk, sergeant-at-arms, assistant sergeant-at-arms, enrolling clerk, door¬ 
keeper, janitor, day watchman, night watchman, chaplain and as many 
committee clerks and pages as may be required. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


51 


Each house also determines the rules for its own pro¬ 
cedure, but can do business only when a majority of the 
members are present, and neither house without the con¬ 
sent of the other can adjourn for more than three days, 
nor to any other place than that in which the two houses 
are sitting. Each house has the power to punish its own 
members, and even, by a two-thirds vote, expel a member. 
The sessions of each house and of the committees of the 
whole are open to the public unless the business is such 
as requires secrecy. Each house keeps a journal of its 
own proceedings, and after the close of the session this 
journal is printed. 1 

The compensation of members of the legislative assembly 
is ten dollars for each day’s session, and ten cents for 
each mile traveled in going to the capital at the opening of 
the session and returning home at its close. The compen¬ 
sation may be changed by law at any session of the legis¬ 
lative assembly, but no increase can take effect till after 
the close of the terms of the members of the legislative 
assembly by which the change is made. 

Power of the Assembly.—While the legislative assembly 
is the representative of the people, the people have not 
authorized this body to do whatever they may think best 
in regard to all matters that are under the control of the 
state. We noticed in the last chapter that certain matters 
require the concurrence of the voters before going into 
effect. Besides these, the constitution, especially in Article 
III, 2 known as the "Declaration of Bights,” places limita¬ 
tions on the power of the legislative assembly, designed 
mainly to secure to the people of the state religious, political, 

1 Every school should have a copy of the Senate and House Journals of 
at least one session, for reference and illustrative study in connection with 
this chapter. A copy can usually be secured from some one who has been 
a member of the legislative assembly. 

8 See pages 92-95. 


52 CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


and civil liberty, freedom of speech and of the press, speedy 
justice, and impartial jury trial. The legislative assembly 
is also forbidden to pass any local or special laws in a large 
number of cases, and in all instances where a general law 
can be made applicable; no appropriation can be made in 
behalf of any private institution, nor can the public credit 
be used to construct railroads for private corporations. 

Committees. —In order that any measure proposed in the 
legislative assembly may receive careful consideration, the 
presiding officer of each house appoints from the members 
of his house a number of standing committees, covering the 
different subjects likely to come before the house, 1 such as 
the committee on education, the committee on mines and 
mining, the committee on fish and game, etc. 

How Laws Are Made. —When a bill 2 is introduced in 
either house, 3 the clerk reads its title, then reads the bill 
in full, and the presiding officer assigns it to the proper 
standing committee. 4 Each day, when the houses have 
adjourned, the committees to which bills have been assigned 
hold meetings at which they talk over the bills, and private 
citizens who are specially interested are usually given an 
opportunity to present their objections to the bill or their 
reasons for wishing it to be adopted. The committee then 
reports the bill back to their house with the recommendation 
that the bill do pass, or that the bill be rejected, or that the 
bill pass with amendments (which they have embodied in 

1 In the Eighth Legislative Assembly the senate had twenty-six standing 
committees, the house thirty-three. 

2 A proposed law is known as a “bHl.” If a bill becomes a law it is 
then called an “act.” Every bill as it is introduced is numbered consecu¬ 
tively, and is thenceforth known as “House Bill No. or “Senate Bill 
No. ..,” as the case may be. 

3 Bills for raising revenue must originate in the house of representa¬ 
tives, but other bills may originate in either house. 

4 If a very important matter somewhat out of the usual line comes up a 
special committee is sometimes appointed, on vote of the house, to consider 
and report on that one matter. Such a committee is discharged as soon 
as the particular matter has been settled, unlike the “standing” commit¬ 
tees, which continue throughout the session. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


53 


the bill), or they may bring in a somewhat different bill 
which they recommend as a substitute. 

If the report of the committee is favorable, the bill is 
then given to the printing committee, 1 who sees to the 
printing of several hundred copies and distributing them 
to all the members of both houses. 

When a bill has been printed, it is considered in “com¬ 
mittee of the whole.” This consists of all the members 
of the house, but the presiding officer calls upon some 
other member to preside, and the rules allow more freedom 
of debate than in the more formal meetings. The bill is 
read section by section by the clerk, and amendments may 
be offered by any member. At any time during the pro¬ 
ceedings a member may move to strike out the enacting 
clause, 2 and if this motion is carried, it amounts to a 
final rejection of the bill. Otherwise, when the discussion 
is over, it is usual to move that when the committee rise 
it report to the house (or senate, as the case may be) that 
it has considered this bill, and recommends that it do pass 
(with amendments if any amendments have been adopted 
in the committee of the whole). 

The bill is then sent to the engrossing committee, who 
have a copy, containing any amendments which may have 
been made in the committee of the whole, carefully type¬ 
written. When this has been done, the engrossing com¬ 
mittee brings in the bill, the clerk reads it for the third time, 
and then reads the history of the bill. 3 The presiding 

1 The house may order the bill printed even if the committee report is 

unfavorable. . , 

2 The enacting clause is “Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of 
the State of Montana.” This immediately follows the title of the bill. 

3 The history of the bill consists of a series of memoranda entered on 
the back at each stage of its progress ; as, for example, “Introduced by 
Smith, and read 1st and 2d times and referred to Committee on Irrigation 
and Water Rights, Jan. 7th. Reported favorably and ordered printed Jan. 
14th. Reported correctly printed and placed on general orders Jan. 19th. 
Considered in Committee of the Whole and reported favorably with amend¬ 
ments Jan 21st. Reported correctly engrossed and placed on general file 
Jan. 24th,” etc. 


54 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


officer then puts the question, “Shall the bill pass?” Upon 
this question the clerk calls the roll in alphabetical order, 
and every member responds “aye” or “no” to his name, 
and the ayes and noes are entered on the journal. If a 
majority vote aye, the engrossed copy of the bill is then 
taken to the other house, and goes through just the same 
course there, except that it is not printed or engrossed again. 

If the bill is amended in the other house, it is then sent 
back to the house in which it originated, and the question 
is immediately put of concurring in the amendments. If 
the first house does not agree to the amendments, it is usual 
to refer the matter to a “conference committee” of the 
two houses, who try to bring about an agreement. If the 
two houses do not come to an agreement about the amend¬ 
ments, the bill fails. 

If the two houses agree, the bill goes to the enrollment 
committee of the house in which it originated, who attend 
to having it “enrolled”—that is, carefully copied with pen 
and ink on specially durable paper. This copy is signed by 
the presiding officer of each house in open session. 

The enrolled bill is now taken to the governor of the 
state. If it meets his approval, he signs it. If not, he 
sends it back, with a written statement of his objections, 
to the house in which it originated. This is called “veto¬ 
ing” the bill. 1 The governor’s message is read in the house 
and entered on its journal. The roll is then called on the 
question, “Shall the bill pass notwithstanding the governor’s 
objections?” If two-thirds vote aye, the bill goes through 
the same process in the other house. If it also receives a 
two-thirds vote there, it is said to be passed over the 
governor’s veto. 

1 In a bill appropriating sums of money to different purposes the gov¬ 
ernor may veto some items while approving others. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


55 


If the governor fails either to approve or veto a bill for 
five days (Sundays excepted), it becomes a law, but bills 
which are still in the governor’s hands when the legislative 
assembly adjourns at the end of the session may be kept 
by him for consideration fifteen days after the adjournment, 
and no such bill can become a law without his approval. 

How to Find the Law. —A part of the law of the state 
is embodied in the constitution. This, as we have already 
seen, cannot be changed by the legislative assembly. In 
order that people may know just what laws the legislative 
assembly has made, however, at the end of each session many 
copies of a volume called the “Session Laws” are printed, 
containing all the new laws. An alphabetical index makes 
it possible to find any particular law, but after several ses¬ 
sions have been held, one would have to look through several 
volumes to find what the law is. Besides this, some laws 
passed at the later sessions repeal or amend laws made at 
earlier sessions. So one cannot be sure that a law which he 
finds in one of the earlier volumes is still in force, without 
looking through all the later volumes to see whether it has 
been changed. This makes the matter very perplexing. 
Consequently the legislative assembly has provided for 
“codifying” the laws—that is, collecting all laws still in 
force, embodying in them any changes that have been made 
since their original adoption, and grouping together all those 
that have to do with similar subjects. 

The Codes. —The present codes are in four parts, known 
as the Political Code, the Civil Code, the Code of Civil 
Procedure, and the Penal Code. The Political Code con¬ 
tains such laws in regard to the details of state and local 
government as have not been definitely specified in the con¬ 
stitution, and is therefore the part of the codes in which 
students of civics would naturally be most interested. The 


56 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


second, known as the Civil Code, contains the laws in regard 
to personal and property rights of individuals and corpora¬ 
tions. The Code of Civil Procedure contains the laws in 
regard to the protection of personal and property rights 
and redress of injuries. The Penal Code defines crimes and 
misdemeanors, and prescribes their penalties. These codes 
are divided and subdivided in such a way that, so far as 
possible, one may find in one place all that the law provides 
in regard to any particular matter. 

The first codes of Montana date from 1895. In course 
of years the laws embodied in these codes had been so largely 
changed that The Eevised Codes of Montana were published, 
containing the laws as they were in 1907. To find what the 
law is now one must therefore consult the Eevised Codes and 
then examine the Session Laws of 1909 and 1911 to see 
whether any changes have been made. 

Direct Government. —We have seen in the study of 
county government that representative government is used 
only as a substitute for direct government, where there seem 
to be such obstacles in the way of direct or democratic gov¬ 
ernment as to make that impracticable. No system of repre¬ 
sentative government ever works perfectly, however, even 
though it is a very great improvement on any of the older 
forms of government which it has displaced. 

The chief trouble with representative government is that 
the representatives do not always really represent the people. 
After representatives have been elected, they may be per¬ 
suaded by means of great rewards promised by persons who 
will derive special benefit from certain legislation, to vote 
for measures contrary to public interests. Bribery has come 
to be so great an evil in all parts of this country, that the 
framers of Montana’s constitution took great pains to guard 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


57 


against it by prescribing a form of oath to be taken by every 
person elected, and by providing severe penalties for bribery. 1 
Nevertheless the trouble is that it is very difficult to con¬ 
vict anyone of bribery. There are so many ways of bringing 
improper influence to bear on representatives without leav¬ 
ing any positive evidence that can be discovered. The matter 
may sometimes be managed so delicately that it seems as if 
the representative himself hardly realized that so harsh a 
word as “bribery” would rightly apply to his case. 

Even where there is no corruption, it is not easy for voters 
to find thoroughly satisfactory representatives. A great 
many difficult measures come before a legislative body. 
Very often a voter must choose between two candidates, 
with each of whom he agrees on some subjects and disagrees 
on others. He must therefore decide which matter he con¬ 
siders the most important, and vote for the candidate who 
stands for that measure, even though, on other grounds, his 
opponent might be preferable. 

Sometimes people vote for certain candidates for the state 
legislature solely because those candidates are pledged to 
favor the election of a certain man to the United States 
Senate when that question comes before the .legislature. 
This particular feature would be removed if United States 
senators should be elected by direct vote of the people—a 
plan which the legislative assembly of Montana has three 
times in vain memorialized Congress to permit the people 
of the United States to consider. The other difficulty, how¬ 
ever, would still remain. 

Now it might seem that if democratic or direct govern¬ 
ment was impracticable in the county, it would be still more 
so in the state. And so it would if it were designed to dis- 

1 Read Article XIX, Section 1, and Article V, Sections 41-43, in the con¬ 
stitution of the state. 


58 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


place representative government altogether. The people of 
Switzerland have found what they believe to be a solution 
of the matter, and their plan, known as the “Initiative and 
Referendum,” has now been embodied in the constitution 
of Montana 1 and of some other states. 

The Referendum. —We have already seen how the loca¬ 
tion of the state capital, the increase of the state debt, and 
the amending of the constitution cannot be accomplished 
by the legislative assembly without an express vote of ap¬ 
proval by the people. Now the referendum simply applies 
this same plan to all the acts of the legislature. 2 Not that 
the people would vote on every act—most of the acts would 
still pass unchallenged—but the referendum empowers five 
per cent, of the voters to demand that any particular act of 
the legislature should be submitted to a vote of the people, 
and if not ratified by a majority of the voters the act does 
not go into effect. 

The objection is sometimes made to the referendum that 
it will require the people so frequently to vote upon acts 
of the legislature that they will not interest themselves in 
the matter. In actual practice it is found that, if the refer¬ 
endum is only in reach all the time, it is very rarely necessary 
to use it. If persons who might be interested in securing 
bad legislation know that the laws, after passing the legis¬ 
lature, will almost certainly be challenged and submitted to 
a vote of the people if there is very serious objection to 
them, they will not think it worth while to bribe members 
of the legislature, and consequently very few measures will 
be passed which the people would wish to challenge. 

It may be illustrated in this way. Suppose a very rich 
man, wishing to make his will, should take a blank, sign 

1 Article V, Section 1. 

2 It is also applicable to acts of city councils. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


59 


his name at the bottom, give it to a lawyer whom he em¬ 
ployed, and ask him to take it to his office, fill in the blanks 
with certain names and amounts, and lock it up in his safe 
till the rich man should die. Under such circumstances there 
would be a very strong desire on the part of some people 
to bribe the lawyer to put their names in the blank spaces 
instead of the names which the testator wanted there. Now 
if any man should be foolish enough to make his will in 
this way, he would be doing very much as we do when we 
commit the making of our laws exclusively to a legislature. 
He would have to trust entirely to the honesty of his lawyer, 
and would sometimes be deceived. Therefore in making a 
will an ordinary person uses the principle of the referendum. 
He tells his lawyer what he wants done, and instructs him 
to bring the will to him for approval when he has drawn 
it up. Then if the will suits him he signs it, and if not, 
he destroys it. Knowing that this is the case, the lawyer 
cannot have any object in drawing up the will any differently 
from his instructions, and no one would think of bribing 
him. 

The Initiative. —The initiative may be said to be the 
positive form, of which the referendum is the negative. If 
the legislature fails to enact a desirable law, the initiative 
allows eight per cent, of the voters to demand a submission of 
the question to the people, and if a majority vote in its 
favor, it becomes a law. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


EXECUTING THE LAWS. 

We have seen how the people decide, either themselves 
or through their representatives, what shall be done by the 
state. We may now consider how it is decided who shall 
do these things. This is partly decided by the people them¬ 
selves, who select the principal state officers, and partly it 
is left to these principal state officers to make selections. 

The governor, the lieutenant-governor, the secretary of 
state, the attorney general, the treasurer, the auditor, the 
superintendent of public instruction, the railroad commis¬ 
sioners, and the judges and clerk of the supreme court, are 
chosen directly by the people at the general election. 

Since we have learned about the general election under 
the study of county government, only two points need to be 
added here: 1st, in regard to candidates; 2d, counting of 
votes. 

State Conventions. —The county conventions, such as 
nominate candidates for county offices, select a number of 
delegates, proportioned to the number of votes cast for the 
candidates of the political party which they represent, at 
the last election. 1 These delegates hold a state convention 
at some place previously appointed, and nominate candidates 
of their party for the state officers to be chosen. They also 
select a state central committee to have charge of the ar¬ 
rangements of the next convention of their party. Another 

1 Classes should watch the newspapers for announcements of the time 
and place of a state convention, and of the number of delegates to which 
the different counties are entitled. 

60 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


61 


thing is done at this convention which is not usually done 
at county conventions. That is, to adopt a "platform.” 1 A 
platform is a statement of the principles of the party, giving 
special prominence to the reasons why, in that particular 
election, people should vote for the candidates of that party. 

Candidates for state offices may also be nominated by peti¬ 
tion, 2 in the same way as candidates for county offices. When 
the nominations have been made, they are certified to the 
secretary of state, and he notifies the clerks of the different 
counties, who then have the names of the state candidates 
printed on their ballots along with the names of the county 
candidates. 

State Canvassing Board. —When the county commis¬ 
sioners canvass the votes in their respective counties, the 
county clerk sends to the secretary of state a list of the 
number of votes cast in the county for each candidate for 
a state office. On the first Monday of December the state 
auditor, the state treasurer and the attorney general, who 
constitute a board of state canvassers, canvass the returns 
from all the counties, and ascertain which candidates have 
been elected. 3 The secretary of state notifies the governor 
of the result, and the governor issues commissions to the 
persons who have received the highest number of votes. 

State Officers.—To be eligible to any of the executive 
offices named, 4 one must be a citizen of the United States, 
at least twenty-five years old, who has resided in Montana 
at least two years; the governor, lieutenant-governor, attor¬ 
ney general, and superintendent of public instruction must 
be at least thirty years old, and the attorney general must be 

1 County conventions also sometimes adopt platforms, but this is not 
always done. 

2 Candidates for judgeships must be nominated in this manner. See 
page 20. 

3 In case of a tie the legislative assembly, at its next session, by joint 
ballot, chooses between the candidates tied. 

* Executive officers are officers whose business it is to enforce the laws. 


62 


CIVICS FOB MONTANA STUDENTS. 


some one who has been admitted to practice law in the 
supreme court of the state. The treasurer is not eligible for 
re-election. The term of each of these officers is four years, 
and begins on the first Monday of January in the years 1909, 
1913, etc. The salary of the governor is $5,000 per year; 
of the railroad commissioners each $4,000; of the superin¬ 
tendent of public instruction $3,000; of the secretary of 
state, the auditor, the treasurer, and the attorney general, 
each $3,000. The pay of the lieutenant-governor is the same 
as that of the speaker of the house of representatives, namely, 
twelve dollars for each day’s session of the legislative assem¬ 
bly and ten cents for each mile traveled going to the 
capital at the opening of the session and returning home 
at its close. 

A good idea of wdiat the people accomplish through their 
co-operation as a state may be learned from a study of the 
business of the different offices of the state government. 

The Governor.—At the head of the state is the governor. 
As the chief executive, it is his business to see that the laws 
are faithfully executed. That is only another way of saying 
that, when the people have decided to do certain things, the 
governor must see to it that these things are done. The 
governor cannot do all the things which the law r s require to 
be done, but he has the general oversight of it all. 

The governor is commander-in-chief of the militia forces 
of the state (unless these forces should be called out into 
the service of the United States), and he has power to use 
the militia to aid in executing the laws, to suppress insur¬ 
rection, or to repel invasion. The governor nominates and, 
with the consent of the senate, appoints all officers of the 
state whose election or appointment is not otherwise pro¬ 
vided for. He also makes appointments to elective offices 
when vacancies occur. The governor may require informa- 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


63 


tion from the officers of the executive departments and from 
the officers and managers of state institutions upon any 
subject relating to the condition, management and expenses 
of their respective offices and institutions. He gives the 
legislative assembly information of the state, and recom¬ 
mends to them such measures as he deems expedient. 1 At the 
beginning of each session he presents to the legislative assem¬ 
bly estimates of the amount of money required to be raised 
by taxation for all purposes of the state. 2 

The governor also has power to grant pardons and remit 
fines and forfeitures, and grant commutations of punish¬ 
ments, and respites after conviction and judgment, for any 
offenses committed against the criminal laws of the state, 
but his power in this respect is limited by the necessity 
for having his action approved by a board of pardons, con¬ 
sisting of the secretary of state, the attorney general, and the 
auditor. 

The Lieutenant-Governor. —In case of the inability of 
the governor or a vacancy in the office, 3 the lieutenant- 
governor serves as governor till the expiration of the term 
or until the disability ceases. In case of the disability of 
the lieutenant-governor also, the office of the governor would 
pass first to the president pro tempore of the senate, or if 
he were disabled, to the speaker of the house of representa¬ 
tives. 

The Secretary of State. —The secretary of state is charged 
with the custody of the enrolled copy of the constitution, 
of the acts and resolutions passed by the legislative assembly, 
and of their journals, of the seal of the state, and of some 

1 The class should obtain a copy of the governor’s “message,” as it is 
called, and make a careful study of it. It is always published in the news¬ 
papers at the time, and pamphlet copies can often be obtained afterwards. 

2 For the power of the governor In regard to the making of laws, see 
pages, 50, 51. 

3 The chief occasion for someone else to serve as governor Is when the 
governor is temporarily absent from the state. 


G± 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


other public documents and records. He attends the ses¬ 
sions of the legislative assembly, registers and attests the 
official acts of the governor, records conveyances made to 
the state, articles of incorporation filed in his office, and the 
official bonds of state officers. He attends to the printing 
and distributing of all state documents. He is also superin¬ 
tendent of the capitol, and keeper of certain supplies pur¬ 
chased for the use of the state, and ex officio state sealer of 
weights and measures. 

The Auditor. —The auditor superintends the fiscal affairs 
of the state, and suggests plans for the improvement and 
management of the public revenue. He keeps all accounts 
in which the state is interested, audits all claims against 
the state, draws warrants on the treasurer for the payment 
of appropriations, and superintends the collection of all 
moneys due the state. He is also ex officio commissioner of 
insurance. 

The Treasurer. —The treasurer receives and keeps account 
of moneys belonging to the state, and pays them out on 
warrants drawn by the auditor. 

Other Officers. —The duties of the attorney general will 
be explained in the chapter on the Judiciary, and the duties 
of the superintendent of public instruction in the chapter 
on Education. 

State Boards. —Many important matters in regard to the 
execution of the laws are committed to executive boards 
composed of several of the state officers. 1 The governor, 
the secretary of state, and the attorney general constitute 
the state furnishing board, to contract for the furnishing of 
all stationery, printing, binding, paper, fuel, lights, etc., 
used by the various departments of the state government. 
The governor, the secretary of state, and the attorney gen- 

1 For the state board of equalization and the state board of examiners, 
see chapter on State Finance; for the state board of education see the 
chapter on Education. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


65 


eral also constitute the board of prison commissioners, who 
have power to appoint the warden of the state prison, and 
have full control of the prison grounds, buildings, labor and 
property, and regulate the management of the prison. The 
governor, the secretary of state, and the attorney general 
also constitute the board of commissioners for the insane, 
and have control and management of the state asylum. The 
governor, the auditor, and the treasurer compose the state 
depository board, with power to designate the depositories 
with which all funds in the hands of the state treasurer shall 
be deposited. The governor, the secretary of state, and the 
auditor constitute the state board of voting machine com¬ 
missioners, to examine and approve machines to be used in 
elections . 1 

The Carey Land Act board, consisting of the state en¬ 
gineer (appointed by the governor), the secretary of state, 
and the state examiner, co-operates with the federal govern¬ 
ment in measures for the irrigation of certain public lands. 

The state law library is in charge of a board of trustees 
consisting of the justices of the supreme court, the secre¬ 
tary of state and the auditor. A board consisting of the 
superintendent of public instruction, the attorney general, 
and the auditor is authorized to establish and maintain a 
system of circulating libraries. 

Railroad Commissioners. —The board of railroad commis¬ 
sioners consists of three persons chosen, one at each general 
election, for terms of six years, to adopt “rates, charges and 
regulations to govern and regulate freight and passenger 
tariffs, to correct abuses and prevent unjust discrimination” 
on the part of railroads in the state. 

Appointive Boards. —Many other boards consist of per¬ 
sons appointed by the governor with the consent of the 
senate. Such is the board of medical examiners, composed 


1 See page 26. 


66 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


of se?en physicians, whose business it is to examine and 
license persons desiring to practice medicine or surgery. 
The board of pharmacy, composed of three pharmacists se¬ 
lected from a list nominated by the Montana Pharmacal 
Association, examines and registers persons who wish to 
compound and dispense drugs. The board of dental exam¬ 
iners, composed of five dentists, examines and certifies to 
the qualifications of persons who wish to practice dentistry. 
The board of osteopathic examiners consists of three osteo¬ 
paths who examine and license qualified persons to practice 
osteopathy. The board of stock commissioners, consisting 
of not more than one member from each county, protects 
the stock interests of the state from theft and disease, and 
recommends such legislation as will foster the live-stock 
industry. A similarly constituted board of sheep commis¬ 
sioners takes like care of sheep interests. The board of 
charities and reforms consists of three members, whose duty 
it is to investigate and supervise the whole system of the 
charitable and correctional institutions supported by the 
state, and to inspect the poor-houses and jails in the different 
counties, and all other places in which persons are forcibly 
confined. The board of arbitration and conciliation consists 
of three members, one of whom must be an employer and 
one a laborer, and is intended to settle disputes between 
employers and employees. The state historical library is 
controlled by a board of five trustees. The soldiers’ home is 
managed by a board of five persons, one of whom is the 
department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic 
of the state of Montana. The state tuberculosis sanitarium 
is controlled by a board composed of the president of the 
sanitarium and two other members appointed by the governor. 

The board of horticulture, consisting of the governor him¬ 
self and five persons whom he appoints, inspects fruit and 
endeavors to exterminate pests which damage fruit trees 


GOVEBNMENT OF MONTANA. 


67 


and vines. The state board of health is composed of the 
governor, the attorney general, and the state veterinarian, 
together with three physicians appointed by the governor 
and one physician chosen by the board itself as its secretary. 
This board co-operates with the local authorities in the dif¬ 
ferent counties in trying to secure sanitary conditions and 
prevent the spread of disease. The state live stock sanitary 
board consists of the presidents of the state board of stock 
commissioners, the state board of sheep commissioners, and 
the state board of health. The state fish commission, con¬ 
sisting of the state game warden and two persons ap¬ 
pointed by the governor, provides for the hatching of fish 
and their free distribution among the streams of the state. 
The state board of poultry husbandry (three members ap¬ 
pointed by the governor) investigates the poultry industry 
and publishes bulletins relating thereto. A board of three 
examiners appointed by the governor determines the qualifica¬ 
tion of applicants for the position of coal mine inspector. 

The bureau of agriculture, labor and industry is in charge 
of a commissioner appointed by the governor. The com¬ 
missioner collects various industrial and other statistics and 
publishes them in a biennial report . 1 

A secretary of the state bureau of child and animal pro¬ 
tection is appointed by the governor to secure the enforce¬ 
ment of the laws for the prevention of wrongs to children 
and dumb animals. 

Appointive Officers.—Some of the executive duties are 
assigned to single officers appointed by the governor with the 
consent of the senate. Among these are the state examiner, 
who examines all the books and accounts of state and county 
officers, and of banks and investment companies chartered by 
the state. The veterinary surgeon investigates cases of con- 

1 These reports contain a great deal of matter of interest to students of 
civics. Any school which has not received a copy of the latest report 
should appiy to the commissioner for one. 


68 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


tagious diseases among domestic animals, and quarantines or 
slaughters such animals when necessary. The inspector of 
boilers examines steam boilers in use in the state, and ex¬ 
amines and grants licenses to steam engineers. The names 
of tjhe offices inspector of mines, inspector of coal mines, and 
game and fish warden, indicate the nature of their work. An 
inspector of steam vessels is appointed by the railroad com¬ 
mission. The state fire marshal is appointed by the state 
auditor to investigate the causes of fires. A state accountant 
is appointed by the state board of examiners to examine the 
financial accounts of all state institutions. 

The governor has a private secretary, and the other elected 
state officers have as many deputies as the legislative assembly 
may from time to time provide for. 

State Institutions.—Most of the institutions maintained 
by the state are educational, and will be described in the 
chapter on education. The others are either charitable or 
correctional. The charitable institutions are the State Or¬ 
phans’ Home at Twin Bridges, the Soldiers’ Home at Colum¬ 
bia Falls, the Tuberculosis Sanitarium at Stevensville, and the 
Insane Asylum at Warm Springs. The correctional institu¬ 
tions are the State Penitentiary at Deer Lodge, and the State 
Reform School at Miles City. The immediate care and man¬ 
agement of the Insane Asylum are in the hands of contractors 
who are paid by the state in proportion to the number of 
inmates. The other institutions are managed directly by the 
state boards described in this chapter and in Chapter XI. 

State Capitol.—The most magnificent building belonging 
to the state is the capitol at Helena. Here are the rooms 
for the meetings of the legislative assembly and the sessions 
of the Supreme Court. The state officers have their offices 
and most of the state boards hold their meetings here. Here 
also are to be found the State Historical Library and the 
State Law Library. 


CHAPTER IX. 


STATE FINANCE. 

The financial affairs of the state are managed in very 
much the same way as the finances of the county, but there 
are some peculiarities which demand special attention. 

Equalization.—There is a state board of equalization, 
consisting of the governor, the secretary of state, the state 
treasurer, the state auditor, and the attorney general. This 
board receives from the clerk of each county a report of the 
assessment of property in the county. If property seems to 
be assessed at a lower valuation in some counties than in 
others, the board undertakes to equalize this, so that when 
the tax is levied, the people of one county will not be com¬ 
pelled to pay an unreasonable share of the state taxes as 
compared with another county. The state board also fixes 
the valuation of the franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails, and 
rolling stock of all railroads operated in more than one 
county, and apportions this among the various counties 
through which the railroad runs, in proportion to the num¬ 
ber of miles of track which the railroad has in each county. 

The State Levy.—The legislative assembly, on the basis 
of such an assessment, levies the state tax. The constitution 
does not permit the legislative assembly (unless the propo¬ 
sition is approved by a majority of the electors at a general 
election 1 ) to levy a tax at a higher rate than two and one- 

1 This limitation makes it practically impossible to levy a greater tax, 
as a general election never comes till twenty months after the adjourn¬ 
ment of the legislative assembly. 


69 


70 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


half mills per year on each dollar of valuation; 1 when the 
taxable property amounts to $600,000,000, the rate must not 
exceed two mills. Up to the present time the valuation has 
always been under $600,000,000, 2 and as the legislative assem¬ 
bly has found use for all the money which could legally be 
raised, the state tax levy is always two and one-half mills. 

Each county treasurer therefore adds two and one-half 
mills to the levy made by the county commissioners, and 
collects the full amount. He then sends to the state treasurer 
the portion which belongs to the state. As already noted, the 
state also receives three-fifths of the proceeds of the inherit¬ 
ance tax described in the chapter on county finance, and one- 
half of all money received from licenses. Fees paid to state 
officers are also turned into the state treasury. 

State Debt.. —As already noted, no indebtedness can be 
incurred beyond $100,000 without the approval of a majority 
of the voters at a general election. 

Appropriations. —No money can be paid out of the state 
treasury except in pursuance of specific appropriations made 
by law, and no appropriation can be made for a longer term 
than two years. It is therefore an important part of the 
business of every regular session of the legislative assembly 
to decide on the amount of money to be applied, for the 
ensuing two years, to each purpose under the care of the state. 
It is usual to embody the appropriations for the executive 
and judicial departments in one act, and those for the 
maintenance of the state institutions in another. Any other 
appropriations must be made in separate acts, each showing 
in its title the purpose of the appropriation. 

Expenditures.— The governor, the secretary of state, and 

1 An additional tax of not more than four mills may, however, be levied 
on live stock for paying bounties on wild animals and protecting live 
stock. 

2 The valuation for 1911 was $331,670,418. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


71 


the attorney general constitute the state board of examiners, 
who examine claims against the state, and the auditor must 
not draw his warrant for any claim unless it has been 
approved by the hoard, except for the payment of the salaries 
of those state officers whose salaries are fixed by law. 

If no appropriation has been made by the legislative assem¬ 
bly for the payment of a claim approved by the board 
of examiners, or if an appropriation has been made and 
exhausted, the hoard can only refer it, with a statement of 
their approval, to the next session of the legislative assembly. 

When a person receives a warrant drawn by the state 
auditor he may present it to the state treasurer. If there 
are funds to pay it, it is then paid. If not, the treasurer 
endorses upon it “presented for payment, and not paid for 
want of funds/’ and the warrant then bears four per cent, 
interest till there is money in the treasury to pay it. 

By studying the annual reports of the state treasurer, we 
may see how much money the state expends on different 
purposes, and in this way learn something of the work which 
the people accomplish by co-operating as a state. 1 


i The Twelfth Legislative Assembly made the following appropriations 
for the years named: 

Executive Department .$ 307,950.00 $ ?9^’Z99'99 

Judiciary . 150,600.00 150,600.00 

Legislative Assembly . 119,000.00 . 

State Institutions (Maintenance). 845,770.00 

State Institutions (New Construction). 3 9§’I99-99 2 ii’999‘99 

State Fair . 77,000,00 25,000.00 

Interest (Bounty Claims). ^’®99'9o 4,000.00 

Deficiency Appropriations . 70,041.78 . 

Miscellaneous .... 208,520.25 142,700.00 


$2,151,632.03 $1,714,575.00 















CHAPTEK X. 


INTERPRETING THE LAWS. 

When we are told that the judicial department “inter¬ 
prets” the laws, it is doubtful whether many pupils know 
much more about the matter than they did before. But the 
meaning will be clear if we recall that the laws, as they are 
made by the legislative department, are usually expressed 
in general terms. But the executive department can enforce 
the laws only by doing specific things. 

Now if the law said that John Smith’s ranch must be 
sold, and $500 from the proceeds paid to Thomas Brown, 
there would be no need of a judicial department. Or if the 
law said that John Doe must be sent to the penitentiary for 
five years, it would be very plain what the sheriff must do. 
But the law does not name these people; it says, for in¬ 
stance, that any person guilty of burglary must be sent to 
the penitentiary. We may imagine the sheriff, in doubt, 
saying to himself, “Does this law mean that 1 must take 
John Doe to the penitentiary?” 

Here the service of the judicial department comes in. 
The judiciary looks carefully into the matter, and finally 
says to the sheriff, “When the law says that persons guilty 
of burglary shall be confined in the penitentiary, it means 
that you must take John Doe to the penitentiary.” In other 
words, the law, which is expressed in general terms, is 
interpreted by the judiciary into specific terms. 

Now in deciding whether the law means that John Doe 
72 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


73 


must be imprisoned, two things must be considered: One 
about John Doe, and one about the law. First, has John 
Doe done certain things? And second, if he has done those 
things, are those things what the law means by burglary? 
The second question is a question of law; 1 and the first is a 
question of fact. 

The courts which the state of Montana has established 
for deciding what the specific things are which the laws 
require to be done are of three grades: The justice or police 
court, the district court, and the supreme court. 

The Justice Court.—Each county is divided by its board 
of commissioners into parts called townships. 2 In each of 
these townships the voters choose, at every general election, 
two justices of the peace and two constables. Each justice 
has his office at some place in the township, and must be 
always ready to hold court, except on Sundays and holidays. 

Now a justice court is not empowered to try cases of every 
sort. The matters with which it is authorized to deal consti¬ 
tute its jurisdiction. 

The jurisdiction of the justice court is limited in three 
ways: 1st, territorially; 2d, in respect to the interests in¬ 
volved; 3d, in relation to other courts. 1st, The jurisdic¬ 
tion of the justice court is limited territorially to the county. 
2d, In civil matters the justice court can try ordinary cases 
where the value of the property in controversy does not 
exceed $300, and does not involve the title to real estate; 
in criminal matters the justice court can try persons charged 
with misdemeanors for which the law prescribes a penalty 
of imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of 


1 There may be other questions of law, as, for example, “Has this law 
been altered or repealed?’ “Is it in conflict with the constitution.' 1 etc. 

2 This expression is very unfortunate. It has nothing to do with the 
word township as commonly used, but only means a sub-division of the 
county for election purposes. There is no such thing as township gov¬ 
ernment” in Montana. 


74 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


not more than $500, or both. 3d, The justice court cannot 
try cases that have already been tried in another court,— 
that is, it has only original jurisdiction. 

It has already been said that, in a lawsuit, there may be 
two things in dispute,—the facts of the case, and the law 
which applies to the case. The question of law is always 
decided by the judge, who, in the justice court, is called the 
justice of the peace. Now it sometimes happens that there 
is no dispute about facts. Then all that is to be done is for 
the judge to decide what law applies to the case. 

When the facts also are in dispute, the parties to the suit 
are very often willing to have the judge also decide the 
question of fact; but if either party to a civil suit, or the 
accused in a criminal case, desires, the questions of fact are 
submitted to a jury of not more than six men. Two-thirds 
of the jury must agree in order to render a verdict. 

Examination. —If a person is accused of a crime for which 
the law prescribes as a penalty a fine of more than $500, 
or imprisonment for more than six months, the justice 
court does not have jurisdiction over the trial of the case. 
But the justice court may hold an examination. That is, 
the accused is brought before the justice court, and the evi¬ 
dence against him is examined. If it seems probable to the 
justice of the peace that the accused is guilty, or if the 
accused waives examination, the justice commits him to the 
custody of the sheriff, who keeps him in jail till time for 
his trial before the court that has jurisdiction. If the offense 
is legally bailable, however, the accused may be released 
on finding bondsmen who guarantee that he shall be on 
hand for trial at the proper time. 

If the evidence presented at the examination is not suffi¬ 
cient to make it seem probable to the justice that the accused 
has committed a crime, the justice dismisses him at once. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


75 


The object of the examination is to prevent, so far as pos¬ 
sible, injustice being done to innocent persons by obliging 
them to stand trial on trivial grounds. 

The Constable.—The executive officer who executes the 
decisions of the justice court is called a constable. There 
are two constables chosen by the voters of each township at 
every general election. Constables must attend the courts 
of justices of the peace within their township whenever 
required, and within their counties execute, serve, and return 
all processes and notices directed or delivered to them by a 
justice of the peace. Their duties in respect to the preserva¬ 
tion of the peace are the same as those of the sheriff. 1 

Police Court.—In every city and town there is a police 
court. The voters of the city elect a police judge every two 
years, at the city election. In towns the council designates 
one of the justices of the peace of the township in which 
the town is situated to act as a police judge. 

The police court has very much the same jurisdiction as 
a justice court for the trial of persons charged with com¬ 
mitting public offenses, and in addition has exclusive juris¬ 
diction of all proceedings for violation of any city ordinance, 
and of all actions for the collection of money claimed to 
be due to or from the city. 

The mayor nominates and, with the consent of the council, 
appoints a chief of police, who executes the decisions of the 
police court. In towns this officer is called the marshal. 

District Court.—Courts of the next grade above the jus¬ 
tice or police courts are district courts. The state is divided 
by the legislative assembly into districts, 2 —at present thir- 


i §00 puce 70* 

8 The 1st district consists of Lewis and Clark county; 2d, Silver 
Bow county ; 3d, Deer Lodge, Powell, and Granite ; 4th, Missoula, Sanders, 
and Ravalli; 5th, Beaverhead, Madison, and Jefferson; 6th, Park and 
Sweet Grass ; 7th, Custer and Dawson; 8th, Cascade and Teton ; 9th, Gal¬ 
latin and Broadwater; 10th, Fergus and Meagher; 11th, Flathead and 
Lincoln; 12th, Blaine, Chouteau, Hill, and Valley; 13th, Yellowstone, 
Rosebud, Musselshell, and Carbon. 


76 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


teen. The voters of each district, every four years at the 
general election, elect a district judge, 1 who must be a 
lawyer, twenty-five years of age or older, who is a citizen 
of the United States and has resided in Montana at least a 
year. 

In districts which consist of a single county, the district 
court is always in session at the county seat except on Sun¬ 
days and holidays. In other districts, the judge holds court 
in turn at least four sessions a year at each county seat in 
his district. 

We have seen that the justice court has only original 
jurisdiction. But the jurisdiction of the district court is 
both original and appellate. Either party to a civil suit, who 
is dissatisfied with the judgment of the justice or the police 
court, may appeal to the district court within thirty days. 
A person convicted of a misdemeanor in a police or justice 
court may appeal to the district court within ten days. 

The original jurisdiction of the district court extends to 
all criminal cases not in the jurisdiction of the justice or 
police court. In civil suits the district court has original 
jurisdiction wherever the matter in controversy exceeds $50 
in value, or involves the title to real estate, or a question 
of marriage or divorce. 

As in the justice court, so in the district court, questions 
of law are decided by the judge. Questions of fact may 
usually be decided by the judge, but either party to a suit 
may insist on a jury trial, and cases amounting to felony 
must be tried before a jury. A trial jury in the district 
court consists of twelve men. In cases of felony the jury 
must be unanimous in order to render a verdict, but in other 
cases two-thirds is sufficient. 

lr rwo judges each are elected in the 1st, 4th, &th, 8th, 12th, and 13th 
districts, and three in the 2nd district. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


77 


There are two ways in which persons may be brought 
to trial for crime in the district court—by information and 
by indictment. 

Information. —If a person has been examined by a justice 
of the peace, and committed to jail to await trial, or ad¬ 
mitted to bail, an account of the proceedings at the exam¬ 
ination is presented to the district court by the county attor¬ 
ney. This account is technically known as information, and 
forms the basis of the prosecution. This is the usual method 
when there are witnesses who are ready to come forward 
and give their testimony. 

Indictment. —Crimes are sometimes committed when the 
only persons who know anything about the matter are dis¬ 
posed, for some reason, to keep it secret. Under such circum¬ 
stances the only way the matter can be reached is for the 
judge to summon a grand jury. A grand jury consists of 
seven men, and may be summoned whenever a district judge 
thinks it necessary. The grand jury holds its sessions in 
secret, and can compel any persons to attend and answer 
any questions which may throw light upon the matter. If, 
as a result of their investigations, such evidence is collected 
that five or more of the grand jury believe the evidence 
would convict some particular person if presented to a trial 
jury, the grand jury indict that person. A warrant is then 
issued for that person’s arrest, and he is brought before the 
court for trial on indictment. 

Coroner’s Inquest. —Another judicial process used in cer¬ 
tain cases is a coroner’s inquest. There is in each county 
an officer called the coroner, whose duty it is to inquire into 
all cases where persons have died under such circumstance* 
as to afford reasonable ground for suspicion that the death 
has been caused by criminal means. The coroner summons 
a jury of not more than nine persons, and as soon as six or 


78 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


more are present, they proceed to hold an inquest. They 
view the remains and examine any witnesses that may be 
available. On the basis of the evidence obtainable a verdict 
is rendered, and a written report of the testimony and the 
inquisition is preserved for use in case a criminal trial should 
follow. If the jury find that a known person has committed 
a crime causing the death, the coroner orders the person 
to be arrested and taken before the nearest magistrate for 
examination. 

The object of the coroner’s inquest is to secure promptly 
evidence which would be destroyed by the removal and burial 
of the dead body, or which could not readily be obtainable 
after a little time had elapsed. If the office of coroner is 
vacant, or he is absent or unable to attend, the duties of 
his office may be discharged by any justice of the peace in 
the county. 

Probate Matters.—In some states there are separate courts 
known as probate courts. These courts deal chiefly with 
the property left by deceased persons, deciding to whom 
it should belong, and the guardianship of orphans and some¬ 
times of insane and other incapable persons. In Montana 
the district courts have jurisdiction in all probate matters. 
The voters of each county select at every general election 
a public administrator, who takes charge of the estates of 
persons dying in the county without heirs or administrators, 
and of such other estates as may be ordered into his hands 
by the court. 

Equity.—Laws are usually made to fit general cases. 
However, cases sometimes arise for which no particular law 
has provided. All that a court can do in such cases is to 
decide what is just and fair to both parties. Such cases are 
called cases in equity , to distinguish them from cases at 
law. In England, courts distinct from the law courts have 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


79 


existed, to try cases in equity. In this country the two 
functions are commonly united, and in Montana the district 
courts are courts of both law and equity. 

Sometimes if it is not convenient for the district judge 
to try a civil case promptly, it may be tried by any lawyer 
in the state whom the two parties to the suit select. 

The Sheriff.—The voters of each county, at every general 
election, choose a sheriff to enforce the decisions of the dis¬ 
trict court. The preservation oi the peace of the county is 
committed to the sheriff. It is his duty to prevent or sup¬ 
press affrays, breaches of the peace, riots, and insurrections. 
He must arrest and take before the nearest magistrate for 
examination all persons who commit or attempt to commit 
a public offense. He must attend all sessions of the district 
court in the county, and carry out all orders of the court. 
In order to accomplish his duties he may call upon as many 
male inhabitants of the county as he needs, and they are 
compelled to assist him, and if this is insufficient, he may 
call upon the governor of the state for the aid of the state 
militia. The sheriff is also required to serve all writs, war¬ 
rants, summons, and other papers or orders required to be 
served in any proceeding before any court, board, or officer 
of the county. He is also the keeper of the county jail and 
of the prisoners committed to it. 

In any case in which the sheriff himself is a party to the 
action or proceeding, the coroner acts as sheriff, unless the 
coroner also happens to be a party. In such case the court 
would temporarily appoint an officer called an elisor. 

County Attorney.—At every general election, also, the 
voters of each county elect a county attorney. It is his 
business to attend the district court in his county, and 
conduct all prosecutions for public offenses. He must in¬ 
stitute proceedings before magistrates for the arrest of per- 


80 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


sons charged with or reasonably suspected of public offenses. 
He must draw all indictments and informations, defend all 
suits brought against the county, prosecute all recognizances 
forfeited in the courts, and all actions for the recovery of 
debts, fines, penalties, and forfeitures accruing to the county 
or the state. He must attend the meetings of the board of 
county commissioners when required, and give legal advice 
to the commissioners and to all county and district officers 
on matters pertaining to the duties of their respective offices. 

Clerk of the District Court. —Every four years the voters 
of each county choose a clerk of the district court. He is 
required to attend all sessions of the district court in his 
county and keep complete records of all the proceedings of 
the court. It is for this reason that the district court is 
known as a court of record. It is because the justice court 
is not a court of record, that it is not given jurisdiction 
in any case involving the title to real estate. The clerk of 
the district court also takes charge of all books and papers 
filed in his office, and issues all processes and notices required 
to be issued. It is also his duty to issue marriage licenses, 
and to keep a record of licenses issued and of certificates 
of marriages solemnized in the county. 

Probation Officers. —The district judge has the power to 
appoint one or more probation officers in any county, to carry 
out the orders of the court in regard to juvenile delinquents. 

The Supreme Court. —The highest court of appeal in the 
state is the supreme court. Cases tried in any district 
court in the state may be brought on appeal to the supreme 
court. This court consists of a chief justice and two asso¬ 
ciate justices, elected by the voters of the state for the terms 
of six years. They must be lawyers, at least thirty years 
old, citizens of the United States, who have resided in Mon¬ 
tana at least two years. One justice is chosen at every 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


81 


general election, so that their terms all expire at different 
times. 1 The supreme court holds four sessions each year, 
always at the state capital. The three justices do not hold 
separate sessions, but all sit together, and when they do 
not all agree, the opinion of two is decisive. 

Officers of the Supreme Court.—The executive officer of 
the supreme court is a marshal, chosen by the supreme court 
to hold office at their pleasure. The records of the supreme 
court are kept by the clerk of the supreme court, elected 
by the voters of the state for a term of six years, at the 
same time as the chief justice. 

Attorney General.—The attorney general, chosen by the 
voters of the state every four years at the general election, 
is required to attend all sessions of the supreme court, and 
prosecute or defend all causes to which the state or any 
officer thereof in his official capacity is a party, and causes 
to which any county is a party unless the interest of the 
county is adverse to that of the state. 

Reports.—The decisions of the supreme court are all re¬ 
ported by the justices, and printed in a series of volumes 
known as the “Montana Reports.” These reports serve to 
guide the judges in the lower courts in deciding similar 
cases which may come before them. 

Salaries.—The salaries of the district judges as well as 
of all persons connected with the supreme court are paid 
by the state. The amounts are as follows: Justices of the 
supreme court, each $6,000 per year; clerk of the supreme 
court, $2,500; marshal of the supreme court, $4 for each 
day’s actual attendance upon the supreme court; district 
judges, each $4,000 per year. Both the district and supreme 
courts are entitled to appoint one stenographer for each, whose 
salaries are each $1,800 per year. The stenographer of the 
supreme court is paid from the state treasury; in the district 

1 The chief justice is elected in the years 1910, 1916, etc. 


82 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


courts the pay is apportioned among the counties comprising 
the district. The justices of the supreme court also receive 
each $1,500 per year for reporting their decisions. 

Impeachment.—One other piece of judicial machinery is 
provided by the state, though fortunately no occasion has 
yet arisen for its use. That is the court of impeachment. All 
state executive and judicial officers, except justices of the 
peace, are subject to impeachment for high crimes or mis¬ 
demeanors or malfeasance in office. 

The sole power of impeachment rests in the house of 
representatives. When an officer has been impeached by 
the house of representatives, he is tried before the senate, 
sitting as a court of impeachment. If two-thirds of the 
senators agree in finding him guilty he is convicted—other¬ 
wise he is acquitted. When the senate tries the governor 
or lieutenant-governor, the chief justice of the supreme court 
presides. When a person is convicted on impeachment he 
is either suspended or permanently removed from office or 
disqualified from holding any office under the state, according 
to the judgment of the senate. 


CHAPTER XI. 


EDUCATION. 

The School District.—For school purposes the county 
is divided by the board of commissioners into school dis¬ 
tricts, designated by numbers. (New districts may be estab¬ 
lished on petition of residents, by the county superintendent, 
subject to appeal to the board of commissioners.) Every 
school district is a body corporate, and may sue and be 
sued, contract, purchase, hold, and use personal or real prop¬ 
erty for school purposes, and may sell the same. All dis¬ 
tricts having a population of 8,000 or more are districts of 
the first class, those with a population of from 1,000 to 8,000 
are districts of the second class, and others are districts of 
the third class. The government of the school districts is 
chiefly representative, and is in the hands of a board of 
trustees consisting of seven in districts of the first class, 
five in districts of the second class, and three in districts 
of the third class. The trustees are elected by the voters 
of the district for terms of three years, and as nearly 
as possible the terms of one-third expire each year. The 
election is held at the school house on the first Satur¬ 
day of April each year, under substantially similar arrange¬ 
ments as those for county elections. At these elections 
all citizens of the United States, male or female, twent}'- 
one years old or more, who have resided in the state one 
year and in the district thirty days, may vote, and are 


83 


84 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


eligible to the office of trustee. The board holds its annual 
meeting on the third Saturday of April, and other regular 
meetings on the third Saturdays of July, October, and Jan¬ 
uary. In districts of the first class regular meetings are 
held every month. The trustees choose one of their number 
chairman, and some other person clerk. The county treasurer 
is treasurer of all the school districts in his county. If a 
vacancy occurs in the board of trustees, the county superin¬ 
tendent appoints someone to fill the vacancy. The trustees 
have charge of the building or renting and repairing and 
furnishing of school houses, the employing of teachers and 
laborers, the fixing of their pay and that of the clerk, the 
general arrangement of courses of study, subject to the 
approval of the county superintendent; they establish rules 
for the government of the schools and enforce rules pre¬ 
scribed by the superintendent of public instruction, and man¬ 
age tne school libraries. 

County High Schools.—Whenever 100 freeholders in any 
county petition the board of county commissioners to estab¬ 
lish a county high school, the question of establishment and 
location is submitted by the board to a vote of the electors 
of the county at a special election. If the vote is favorable 
to the establishment of such a high school, the county board 
of commissioners appoints six resident taxpayers of the 
county (of whom three must be residents of the township 
where the school is to be located), who, together with the 
county superintendent, constitute a county high school board. 
These trustees are appointed for two years, and the terms 
of one-half expire each year on the third Saturday of April. 
The trustees organize by choosing a president and a secretary 
from among their own number. This board has power to 
erect and equip a building, employ teachers, and establish 
courses of study. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


85 


County Superintendent. —Any person qualified to vote at 
a school election is eligible to the office of county superin¬ 
tendent. 1 It is the superintendent’s duty to have the gen¬ 
eral supervision of the public schools of the county. He 
visits the schools, advises the teachers, counsels with the 
trustees, decides matters in controversy in the administra¬ 
tion of school law, holds teachers’ institutes of from three 
to ten days each year, selects persons to instruct therein, and 
presides at the sessions, conducts teachers’ examinations, and 
issues certificates to those who pass the examinations, and 
apportions all school moneys to the different districts in the 
county. 

Teachers’ Certificates.—To be a public school teacher, one 
must be eighteen years of age or older, a citizen of the United 
States, or one who has declared an intention to become a 
citizen, and must have certain evidences of qualification. 
Such evidence may be any one of five things: (1) a certifi¬ 
cate of having passed an examination before the county super¬ 
intendent; (2) a temporary permit from the superintendent; 
(3) a diploma from the State Normal College; (4) a diploma 
and certificate from the University of Montana; or (5) a 
diploma from the State Board of Education. 

(1) County Certificates. County examinations are held 
on the last Friday of February, April, August, and Novem¬ 
ber and the day following. The questions are prepared and 
the regulations prescribed by the State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction. The certificates are of four grades, 
known as professional, 1st, 2d, and 3d grade. Third grade 
certificates are good only for one year, and are not issued 
more than twice to the same person. Second grade certifi¬ 
cates are good for two years. Both 2d and 3d grade certifi¬ 
cates are good only in the county where issued. First grade 


i The legislative assembly has passed a law requiring county superin¬ 
tendents to hold certain certificates, but as this law clearly violates 
Article IX, Section 11, of the constitution, it is of course void. 


86 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


certificates are issued for three, and professional certificates 
for four years, and both are good as long as the holder con¬ 
tinues teaching and gives good evidence of progress and effi¬ 
ciency. Examinations are given in the following subjects: 1 
penmanship, orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, men¬ 
tal arithmetic, geography, grammar, physiology and hygiene, 
history of the United States, and theory and practice of 
teaching. In addition to these subjects, examinations for 2d 
grade certificates include civics of the United States and 
Montana, and physical geography. Candidates for 1st grade 
certificates must pass an examination in all subjects required 
for the 2d grade, and also in American literature and ele¬ 
mentary algebra, and for a professional certificate to all 
these must be added physics and plane geometry. 

First, second, and third grade certificates do not entitle 
the holder to teach in a high school, or to be principal of a 
school of more than two departments. No professional or 
first grade certificate can be issued to any person who has 
not taught successfully for twelve months. 

Special certificates, good for three years, may be issued in 
penmanship, drawing, modern languages, or music, entitling 
the holder to teach only the subjects named. Persons who 
wish to teach in a public kindergarten must pass such exam¬ 
ination as may be prescribed by the State Normal College. 

(2) Temporary Permits. The county superintendent may 
grant a temporary certificate to teach till the next regular 
examination, to a person who can show satisfactory reasons 
for failing to attend a regular examination. Such a tempo¬ 
rary certificate cannot be granted more than once to the same 
person, except that, where it is impossible for such person to 
attend the next regular examination, the superintendent of 
public instruction may, on application, authorize the county 
superintendent to issue a second permit, or he may require 

1 The papers are graded by a board of three examiners composed of the 
county superintendent and two teachers appointed by the county com¬ 
missioners. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


87 


the applicant to take a private examination. The state super¬ 
intendent may grant a temporary state certificate, good until 
the next regular meeting of the State Board of Education, to 
any teacher whose experience and qualifications would, in the 
opinion of the superintendent, entitle him to a state or life 
diploma. 

(3) Diploma from the State Normal College. All gradu¬ 
ates of the Montana State Normal College are entitled to 
teach in any public school in the state, without further exami¬ 
nation, for a term of three years after such graduation. 

(4) Diploma and Certificate from the State University. 
Graduates of the University of Montana who have taken 
special courses prescribed for teachers are entitled to teach, 
without examination, for five years, but only in high schools. 

(5) Diplomas from the State Board of Education, (a) 
State diplomas, valid for six years, are issued to persons who 
have held for one year first grade certificates, and pass an 
examination in English literature and mental philosophy, if 
they have successfully taught five years, of which not less 
than twenty-one months has been in the public schools of 
Montana. State diplomas are sometimes granted without 
examination to experienced teachers who are graduates of 
institutions of higher education, or who hold diplomas in 
other states, (b) Life diplomas are granted, 1st, to all grad¬ 
uates of the four years course of the Montana State Normal 
College who have taught successfully in the public schools 
of the state for one year; 2d, to graduates of the 
three years course of the State Normal College who have 
taught successfully in the public schools of the state 
for two years; 3d, to graduates of the University of 
Montana who have taught successfully in high schools for 
twenty-seven months; 4th, to experienced teachers who are 
graduates of other institutions of higher education or who 
hold life diplomas in other states; 5th, to persons who have 
held first grade certificates for one year, and have taught 


88 


CIVICS FOB MONTANA STUDENTS. 


successfully for ten years, including at least twenty-one 
months in the public schools of Montana, and who pass an 
examination in botany, geology, political economy, zoology, 
and general history. 

Duties of Teachers. —The duty of the school teacher is 
described in the law as being chiefly to enforce in school the 
course of study and regulations, and to “endeavor to impress 
on the minds of their pupils the principles of morality, truth, 
justice, and patriotism; to teach them to avoid idleness, pro¬ 
fanity, and falsehood, and to instruct them in the principles 
of a free government, and to train them up to a true com¬ 
prehension of the rights, duties, and dignity of American 
citizenship.” 

Teachers are cautioned to refrain from undue severity in 
punishment, they must not act as agent for the sale of any 
school books or appliances, they must not teach any sectarian 
or denominational doctrine, and must not leave school before 
the expiration of their contracts, without the written consent 
of the trustees. They are required to keep a daily register 
on blanks furnished by the superintendent of public instruc¬ 
tion, and to make an annual report to the county superin¬ 
tendent, by the 10th of September, and such additional re¬ 
ports as may be required by the superintendent of public 
instruction. 

Teachers are empowered to hold pupils accountable in 
school for conduct on the way to school or during the inter¬ 
mission. Teachers may suspend any pupil for good cause. 
They may appeal to the county superintendent if dismissed 
before the expiration of their contracts. They are entitled 
to the protection of the law against insult or abuse about 
the school premises, and they cannot be required to teach 
on a legal holiday. 

Text-Books. —A uniform set of text-books for the public 
schools is prescribed by the state board of text-book commis¬ 
sioners. Where a majority of the votes cast at a school elec- 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


89 


tion in any district is in favor of free text-books, it is the 
duty of the trustees to purchase books to be loaned to pupils, 
and if necessary, a special tax may be levied for the pur¬ 
pose. 

School Libraries. —From five to ten per cent, of the county 
school fund apportioned to each district must be devoted to 
a school library, except that the total amount in any district 
of less than two thousand inhabitants must not exceed $50 in 
one year. In larger districts the amount may be not more 
than $50 for every five hundred children. 

School Finance. —For the support of public schools the 
government of the United States has ceded to the state 
of Montana the sixteenth and thirty-sixth section of every 
township—that is to say, one-eighteenth of all the land in the 
state of Montana. These lands may be leased for not more 
than five years at a time, or sold for not less than ten dollars 
per acre. The government of the United States also gives 
to the state five per cent, of the proceeds of the sales of 
public lands in the state. This money, together with the pro¬ 
ceeds of the sale of school lands sold by the state, is invested, 
and the interest thereon, together with the money received 
from leases of school lands, is distributed to the different 
counties in the proportion which the number of children of 
school age 1 —that is, between the ages of six and twenty-one— 
in a county bears to the whole number of such children in 
the state. 2 Each county levies a tax of four mills on each 
dollar of taxable property in the county. This tax, together 
with the apportionment from the state school fund just men- 


1 Persons between the ages of six and twenty-one have a right to 
attend school, but the law requires regular attendance as long as school 
is in session, on the part of all healthy children between eight and 
fourteen years of age, and also those between the ages of fourteen and 
sixteen who are unable to read and write the English language and are 
not regularly employed. The law forbids altogether the employment, in 
school hours, of any child under fourteen, unless he has completed the 


common school course. . , „ , . A . KA 

2 The amount for 1911 (apportioned Feb. 1912) was $345,404.50. 
Apportioned on the basis of 98,087 persons of school age, this amounted 
to $3.50 per capita. 


90 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


tioned, and all fines paid into the county treasury, and the 
money which the county realizes from the inheritance tax, 
constitutes the county school fund. This is apportioned 
every year by the county superintendent to the different dis¬ 
tricts of the county in the proportion which the number of 
children of school age in the district bears to the whole num¬ 
ber of such children in the county. 

Special Tax.—If any district needs more money than this, 
the trustees of the district certify to the board of county 
commissioners the number of mills (not exceeding ten) 
which it is necessary to levy on each dollar of taxable prop¬ 
erty in the district, and the board of commissioners causes 
this to be levied (only on the property in that particular 
district), and collected along with the other taxes and set 
apart for the use of the district. 

School Bonds.—To build and furnish school houses and 
to purchase land for them, district boards of trustees may 
issue bonds bearing not more than six per cent, interest, for 
an amount not greater than three per cent, of the value of 
taxable property in the district, and in no case exceeding 
$500,000. The plan, however, must first be approved by a 
majority of the votes cast at a special election held in the 
district for the purpose of considering the matter. When 
bonds have been issued in any district, the county board of 
commissioners must, every year, levy a special tax on the 
property in the district sufficient to pay the interest on the 
bonds and to provide a sinking fund sufficient to redeem the 
bonds at maturity. 

Support of High School.—To meet the expenses of a 
county high school, the board of county commissioners in 
every county in which there is such a high school must levy 
every year such a tax, not exceeding three mills on each dollar 
of taxable property in the county, as the school board may 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


91 


consider necessary; but the tax may be as high as ten mills 
when a school building is to be erected. The high school 
board may, however, issue bonds for not more than $100,000, 
to run not more than twenty years, to erect and equip a high 
school building and provide a site. This question must first 
be submitted to a vote of the electors of the county, and 
if bonds are issued, the board of commissioners must levy 
such a tax every year as will suffice to pay the interest on 
the bonds and provide a sinking fund. 

The control which the state exercises in the matter of 
education is chiefly through the superintendent of public 
instruction and the state board of education. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction. —The superintend¬ 
ent of public instruction is one of the elected state officers 
already mentioned. 1 He has general supervision of the public 
schools throughout the state. He prepares their courses of 
study, he furnishes them with all necessary blanks, etc., for re¬ 
ports, he provides them with lists of approved books and rules 
for school libraries, and apportions the state school funds 
among the counties. He also prepares questions and prescribes 
rules for examinations for teachers’ county certificates. He 
prescribes rules for holding teachers’ institutes, and attends 
and assists at them. He sees to the printing of the school laws, 
furnishes copies of them to school officers, advises county 
superintendents, and decides appeals from their decisions. 

State Board of Education. —The state board of education 
consists of the governor, the superintendent of public instruc¬ 
tion, the attorney general, and eight persons appointed by 
the governor with the consent of the senate for terms of 
four years, two being appointed each year. The board has 
general control and supervision of all the state educational 
institutions, grants diplomas to their graduates, receives from 

1 Pages 60, 62, 64. 


92 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


the state board of land commissioners or other sources, funds, 
incomes, and other property to which they are entitled, and 
uses the same for the purposes of the grant. The board 
grants state and life diplomas, and appoints and commissions 
teachers to act as instructors in county institutes. The gov¬ 
ernor is the chairman and the superintendent of public in¬ 
struction is the secretary of the board. 

State Institutions. —The educational institutions main¬ 
tained by the state are the University of Montana at Mis¬ 
soula, the Agricultural College of Montana at Bozeman, the 
Montana State Normal College at Dillon, the Montana State 
School of Mines at Butte, and the State School for the Deaf 
and Blind (with special provisions also for the instruction 
of feeble-minded children), at Boulder. 1 They are all under 
the general supervision of the state board of education, but 
each institution has an executive board composed of the 
president of the institution as chairman and two other mem¬ 
bers appointed by the governor for four years, subject to the 
confirmation of the state board of education. 2 

Federal Aid.—The federal government has made liberal 
donations of public lands for the support of the state institu¬ 
tions. The amounts of these are: 


University. 46,080.48 acres 

Agricultural College.140,000 acres 

Normal College.100,000 acres 

School of Mines.100,000 acres 

School for the Deaf and Blind. 50,000 acres 


1 Each of these institutions publishes an annual catalogue giving a 
great deal of information about the work of the institution. Every 
school ought to obtain and study these catalogues. 

2 The Reform School and the Orphans' Home are also governed in the 
same manner. 







GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


93 


Whenever any of these lands or the timber thereon are 
sold, the proceeds are invested, and the interest thereon, 
together with rentals received from such lands as are leased, 
is devoted to the maintenance of the respective institutions. 
The federal government also appropriates $50,000 per year 
in money for the expenses of the Agricultural College, and 
$30,000 for an agricultural experiment station at the Agri¬ 
cultural College. The remaining expenses of all these insti¬ 
tutions are met from appropriations made by the legislative 
assembly from the treasury of the state. 

School Lands.—The leasing and sale of the school lands 
and the lands belonging to the educational and other insti¬ 
tutions of the state 1 is in the hands of the state board of 
land commissioners, composed of the governor, the superin¬ 
tendent of public instruction, the secretary of state, and the 
attorney general. All records in connection with these lands 
are kept by the register of the state land office, an officer ap¬ 
pointed by the governor. There is also a state land agent, 
appointed by the governor with the consent of the board of 
land commissioners, to select the lands granted to the state, 
attend to their conveyance to the state, and to oversee the 
cutting of timber thereon. 

1 Besides the land grants already mentioned, the federal government 
has given the state 182,000 acres for building the capitol, and 50,000 acres 
for the reform school. 


CONSTITUTION OF MONTANA. 


Framed by the Convention held at Helena, July 4-Aug. 17, 1889. Ratified 
by the people, Oct. 1, 1889; in force, Nov. 8, 1889. 

Preamble. —We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty 
God for the blessings of liberty, in order to secure the advantages 
of a state government, do, in accordance with the provisions of the 
enabling act of congress, approved the twenty-second of February, 
A. D. 1889, ordain and establish this constitution. 

ARTICLE I. 

BOUNDARIES. 

Section 1. The boundaries of the state of Montana shall be as 
follows, to-wit: Beginning at a point formed by the intersection 
of the twenty-seventh degree of longitude west from Washington 
with the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, thence due west on the 
forty-fifth degree of latitude to a point formed by its intersection 
with the thirty-fourth degree of longitude west from Washington, 
thence due south along the thirty-fourth degree of longitude, to a 
point formed by its intersection with the crest of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains, thence following the crest of the Rocky Mountains north¬ 
ward to its intersection with the Bitter Root Mountains; thence 
northward along the crest of the Bitter Root Mountains, to its 
intersection with the thirty-ninth degree of longitude west from 
Washington; thence along the thirty-ninth degree of longitude 
northward to the boundary line of the British Possessions; thence 
eastward along that boundary line to the twenty-seventh degree of 
longitude west from Washington; thence southward along the 
twenty-seventh degree of longitude to the place of beginning. 

ARTICLE II. 

MILITARY RESERVATIONS. 

Section 1. Authority is hereby granted to and acknowledged in 
the United States to exercise exclusive legislation as provided by 

94 



GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


05 


the constitution of the United States, over the military reservations 
of Fort Assinaboine, Fort Custer, Fort Keogh, Fort Maginnis, Fort 
Missoula and Fort Shaw, as now established by law, so long as said 
places remain military reservations, to the same extent and with the 
same effect as if said reservations had been purchased by the United 
States by consent of the legislative assembly of the state of Mon¬ 
tana; and the legislative assembly is authorized and directed to 
enact any law necessary or proper to give effect to this article. 

Provided, That there be and is hereby reserved to the state the 
right to serve all legal process of the state, both civil and criminal, 
upon persons and property found within any of said reservations 
in all cases where the United States has not exclusive jurisdiction. 

ARTICLE III. 

A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA. 

Section 1. All political power is vested in and derived from the 
people; all government of right originates with the people; is 
founded upon their will only and is instituted solely for the good of 
the whole. 

Sec. 2. The people of the state have the sole and exclusive right 
of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign and independent state, 
and to alter and abolish their constitution and form of government, 
whenever they may deem it necessary to their safety and happiness, 
provided such change be not repugnant to the constitution of the 
United States. 

Sec. 3. All persons are born equally free, and have certain natural, 
essential and inalienable rights, among which may be reckoned the 
right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, of acquir¬ 
ing, possessing and protecting property, and of seeking and obtaining 
their safety and happiness in all lawful ways. 

Sec. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession 
and worship, without discrimination, shall forever hereafter be guar¬ 
anteed, and no person shall be denied any civil or political right 
or privilege on account of his opinions concerning religion, but the 
liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be construed to dis¬ 
pense with oaths or affirmations, excuse acts of licentiousness, by 
bigamous or polygamous marriage, or otherwise, or justify prac¬ 
tices inconsistent with the good order, peace or safety of the state. 


96 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


or opposed to the civil authority thereof, or of the United States. 
No person shall be required to attend any place of worship or 
support any ministry, religious sect or denomination, against his 
consent; nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious 
denomination or mode of worship. 

Sec. 5. All elections shall be free and open, and n^ power, civil 
or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise 
of the right of suffrage. 

Sec. 6. Courts of justice shall be open to every person, and a 
speedy remedy afforded for every injury of person, property or 
character, and that right and justice shall be administered without 
sale, denial or delay. 

Sec. 7. The people shall be secure in their persons, papers, 
homes and effects, from unreasonable searches and seizures, and no 
warrant to search any place or seize any person or thing, shall issue 
without describing the place to be searched, or the person or thing 
to be seized, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or 
affirmation, reduced to writing. 

Sec. 8. Criminal offenses of which justices’ courts and municipal 
and other courts, inferior to the district courts, have jurisdiction, 
shall, in all courts inferior to the district court, be prosecuted by 
complaint. All criminal actions in the district court, except those 
on appeal, shall be prosecuted by information, after •examination and 
commitment, by a magistrate, or after leave granted by the court, 
or shall be prosecuted by indictment without such examination or 
commitment, or without such leave of the court. A grand jury shall 
consist of seven persons, of whom five must concur to find an in¬ 
dictment. 

A grand jury shall only be drawn and summoned when the dis¬ 
trict judge shall in his discretion consider it necessary, and shall so 
order. 

Sec. 9. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying 
war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort; no person shall be convicted of treason except on the testi¬ 
mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his confession 
in open court; no person shall be attainted of treason or felony by 
the legislative assembly; no conviction shall work corruption of blood 
or forfeiture of estate; the estates of persons who may destroy their 
own lives shall descend or vest as in cases of natural death. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


97 


Sec. 10. No law shall be passed impairing the freedom of 
speech; every person shall be free to speak, write or publish what¬ 
ever he will on any subject, being responsible for all abuse of that 
liberty; and that in all suits and prosecutions for libel, the truth 
thereof may be given in evidence; and the jury, under the direction 
of the court, shall determine the law and the facts. 

Sec. 11. No ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligation 
of contracts, or making any irrevocable grant of special privileges, 
franchises or immunities shall be passed by the legislative assembly. 

Sec. 12. No person shall be imprisoned for debt except in the 
manner prescribed by law, upon refusal to deliver up his estate for 
the benefit of his creditors, or in cases of tort, where there is strong 
presumption of fraud. 

Sec. 13. The right of any persoL to keep or bear arms in de¬ 
fense of his own home, person and property, or in aid of the civil 
power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, 
but nothing herein contained shall be held to permit the carrying of 
concealed weapons. 

Sec. 14. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for 
public use without just compensation having been first made to, or 
paid into court for the owner. 

Sec. 15. The use of all water now appropriated, or that may 
hereafter be appropriated for sale, rental, distribution or other 
beneficial use and the right of way over the lands of others, for all 
ditches, drains, flumes, canals and aqueducts, necessarily used in 
connection therewith, as well as the sites for reservoirs necessary for 
collecting and storing the same, shall be held to be a public use. 
Private roads may be opened in the manner to be prescribed by 
law, but in every case the necessity of the road, and the amount 
of all damage to be sustained by the opening thereof, shall be first 
determined by a jury, and such amount together with the expenses 
of the proceeding shall be paid by the person to be benefited. 

Sec. 16. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the 
right to appear and defend in person and by counsel; to demand 
the nature and cause of the accusation; to meet the witnesses 
against him face to face; to have process to compel the attendance 
of witnesses in his behalf, and a speedy public trial by an impartial 
jury of the county or district in which the offense is alleged to have 
been committed, subject to the right of the state to have a change 


98 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


of venue for any of the causes for which the defendant may obtain 
the same. 

Sec. 17. No person shall be imprisoned for the purpose of 
securing his testimony in any criminal proceeding longer than may 
be necessary in order to take his deposition. If he can give 
security for his appearance at the time of trial he shall be dis¬ 
charged upon giving the same; if he cannot give security, his 
deposition shall be taken in the manner prescribed by law, and in 
the presence of the accused and his counsel, or without their 
presence, if they fail to attend the examination after reasonable 
notice of the time and place thereof. Any deposition authorized by 
this section may be received as evidence on the trial, if the witness 
shall be dead or absent from the state. 

Sec. 18. No person shall be compelled to testify against himself, 
in a criminal proceeding, nor shall any person be twice put in 
jeopardy for the same offense. 

Sec. 19. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, 
except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the pre¬ 
sumption great. 

Sec. 20. Excessive bail shall not be required, or excessive fines 
imposed, or cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Sec. 21. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall never 
be suspended, unless, in case of rebellion, or invasion, the public 
safety require it. 

Sec. 22. The military shall always be in strict subordination to 
the civil power; no soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in 
any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, 
except in the manner prescribed by law. 

Sec. 23. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and 
remain inviolate, but in all civil cases and in all criminal cases not 
amounting to felony, upon default of appearance or by consent of 
the parties expressed in such manner as the law may prescribe, a 
trial by jury may be waived, or a trial had by any less number of 
jurors than the number provided by law. A jury in a justice’s court 
both in civil cases and in cases of criminal misdemeanor shall con¬ 
sist of not more than six persons. In all civil actions and in all 
criminal cases not amounting to felony, two-thirds in number of the 
jury may render a verdict, and such verdict so rendered shall have 
the same force and effect as if all of such jury concurred therein. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


99 


Sec. 24. Laws for the punishment of crime shall be founded 
on the principles of reformation and prevention, but this shall not 
affect the power of the legislative assembly to provide for punishing 
offenses by death. 

Sec. 25. Aliens and denizens shall have the same right as citi¬ 
zens to acquire, purchase, possess, enjoy, convey, transmit, and in¬ 
herit mines and mining property, and milling, reduction, concentrat¬ 
ing, and other works, and real property necessary for or connected 
with the business of mining and treating ores and minerals; Pro¬ 
vided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to infringe 
upon the authority of the United States to provide for the sale or 
disposition of its mineral and other public lands. 

Sec. 26. The people shall have the right peaceably to assemble 
for the common good, and to apply to those invested with the 
powers of government for redress of grievances by petition or re¬ 
monstrance. 

Sec. 27. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property 
without due process of law. 

Sec. 28. There shall never be in this state either slavery or in¬ 
voluntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the 
party shall have been duly convicted. 

Sec. 29. The provisions of this constitution are mandatory and 
prohibitory, unless by express words they are declared to be other¬ 
wise. 

Sec. 30. The enumeration in this constitution of certain rights, 
shall not be construed to deny, impair or disparage others retained 
by the people. 

Sec. 31. No armed person or persons or armed body of men 
shall be brought into this state for the preservation of the peace 
or the suppression of domestic violence, except upon the application 
of the legislative assembly or of the governor when the legislative 
assembly cannot be convened. 

ARTICLE IV. 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

Section 1. The powers of the government of this state are 
divided into three distinct departments: The legislative, executive, 
and judicial, and no person or collection of persons charged with 


100 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these depart* 
ments shall exercise any powers properly belonging to either of the 
others, except as in this constitution expressly directed or permitted. 

ARTICLE V. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1. The legislative authority of the state shall be vested 
in a legislative assembly, consisting of a senate and a house of rep¬ 
resentatives; [but the people reserve to themselves power to propose 
laws, and to enact or reject the same at the polls, except as to laws 
relating to appropriations of money, and except as to laws for the 
submission of constitutional amendments, and except as to local or 
special laws, as enumerated in Article V, Section 26, of this consti¬ 
tution, independent of the legislative assembly; and also reserve 
power at their own option, to approve or reject at the polls, any act 
of the legislative assembly, except as to laws necessary for the imme¬ 
diate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, and except 
as to laws relating to appropriations of money, and except as to laws 
for the submission of constitutional amendments, and except as to 
local or speciil laws, as enumerated in Article V, Section 26, of this 
constitution. The first power reserved by the people is the INITIA¬ 
TIVE, and eight per cent, of the legal voters of the state shall be 
required to propose any measure by petition; provided, that two- 
fifths of the whole number of the counties of the state must each 
furnish as signers of said petition eight per cent, of the legal voters 
in such county, and every such petition shall include the full text 
of the measure so proposed. Initiative petitions shall be filed with 
the secretary of state, not less than four months before the election 
at which they are to be voted upon. 

The second power is the REFERENDUM, and it may be ordered 
either by petition signed by five per cent, of the legal voters of the 
state, provided that two-fifths of the whole number of the counties 
of the state must each furnish as signers of said petition five per 
cent, of the legal voters in such county; or by the legislative assem¬ 
bly, as other bills are enacted. 

Referendum petitions shall be filed with the secretary of state, 
not later than six months after the final adjournment of the session 
of the legislative assembly which passed the bill on which the refer- 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


101 


endum is demanded. The veto power of the governor shall not extend 
to measures referred to the people by the legislative assembly or by 
initiative or referendum petitions. 

All elections on measures referred to the people of the state 
shall be had at the biennial regular general election, except when the 
legislative assembly, by a majority vote shall order a special elec¬ 
tion. Any measure referred to the people shall still be in full force 
and effect unless such petition be signed by fifteen per cent, of the 
legal voters of a majority of the whole number of the counties of 
the state, in which case the law shall be inoperative until such time 
as it shall be passed upon at an election, and the result has been 
determined and declared as provided by law. The whole number 
of votes cast for governor at the regular election last preceding the 
filing of any petition for the initiative or referendum, shall be the 
basis on which the number of the legal petitions and orders for the 
initiative and for the referendum shall be filed with the secretary of 
state; and in submitting the same to the people, he, and all other 
officers, shall be guided by the general laws and by the act submit¬ 
ting this amendment, until legislation shall be especially provided 
therefor. The enacting clause of every law originated by the initia¬ 
tive shall be as follows: 

“Be it enacted by the People of Montana.” 

This section shall not be construed to deprive any member of the 
legislative assembly of the right to introduce any measure.] 1 

Sec. 2. Senators shall be elected for the term of four years, and 
representatives for the term of two years, except as otherwise pro¬ 
vided in this constitution. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a representative who shall not have 
attained the age of twenty-one years, or a senator who shall not 
have attained the age of twenty-four years, and who shall not be 
a citizen of the United States, and who shall not (for at least 
twelve months next preceding his election) have resided within the 
county or district in which he shall be elected. 

Sec. 4. The legislative assembly of this state, until otherwise 
provided by law, shall consist of sixteen members of the senate, and 
fifty-five members of the house of representatives. 

It shall be the duty of the first legislative assembly to divide the 

1 The portion of this section enclosed in brackets is an amendment 
proposed by the Ninth Legislative Assembly, and adopted by the people 
at the general election in 1906. 


102 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


state into senatorial and representative districts, but there shall be no 
more than one senator from each county. The senators shall be 
divided into two classes. Those elected from odd numbered districts 
shall constitute one class, and those elected from even numbered 
districts shall constitute the other class; and when any additional 
senator shall be provided for by law his class shall be determined 
by lot. 

One-half of the senators elected to the first legislative assembly 
shall hold office for one year, and the other half for three years; 
and it shall be determined by lot immediately after the organization 
of the senate whether the senators from the odd or even numbered 
districts shall hold for one or three years. 

Sec. 5. Each member of the first legislative assembly, as a com¬ 
pensation for his services shall receive six dollars for each day’s at¬ 
tendance and twenty cents for each mile necessarily traveled in going 
to and returning from the seat of government to his residence by the 
usually traveled route, and shall receive no other compensation, per¬ 
quisite or allowance whatsoever. 

No session of the legislative assembly, after the first, which may 
be ninety days, shall exceed sixty days. 

After the first session, the compensation of the members of the 
legislative assembly shall be as provided by law; Provided, That 
no legislative assembly shall fix its own compensation. 

Sec. 6. The legislative assembly (except the first) shall meet 
at the seat of government at twelve o’clock, noon, on the first Mon¬ 
day of January, next succeeding the general election provided by 
law, and at twelve o’clock, noon, on the first Monday of January, of 
each alternate year thereafter, and at other times when convened 
by the governor. 

The term of service of the members thereof shall begin the next 
day after their election, until otherwise provided by law; Provided, 
That the first legislative assembly shall meet at the seat of govern¬ 
ment upon the proclamation of the governor after the admission of 
the state into the union, upon a day to be named in said proclama¬ 
tion, and which shall not be more than fifteen nor less than ten days 
after the admission of the state into the union. 

Sec. 7. No senator or representative shall, during the term fot 
which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office 
under the state; and no member of congress, or other person holding 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


103 


an office (except notary public, or in the militia) under the United 
States or this state, shall be a member of either house during his 
continuance in office. 

Sec. 8. No member of either house shall, during the term for 
which he shall have been elected, receive any increase of salary or 
mileage under any law passed during such term. 

Sec. 9. The senate shall, at the beginning and close of each 
regular session, and at such other times as may be necessary, elect 
one of its members president, pro tempore. The house of representa¬ 
tives shall elect one of its members speaker. Each house shall choose 
its other officers, and shall judge of the elections, returns, and qualifi¬ 
cations of its members. 

Sec. 10. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to 
do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and 
under such penalties as each house may prescribe. 

Sec. 11. Each house shall have power to determine the rules of 
its proceedings, and punish its members or other persons for con¬ 
tempt or disorderly behavior in its presence; to protect its members 
against violence or offers of bribe or private solicitation, and with 
the concurrence of two-thirds, to expel a member, and shall have all 
other powers necessary for the legislative assembly of a free state. 

A member expelled for corruption shall not thereafter be eligible 
to either house of the legislative assembly; and punishment for 
contempt or disorderly behavior shall not bar a criminal prosecution 
for the same offense. 

Sec. 12. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and 
may, in its discretion, from time to time, publish the same, except 
such parts as require secrecy, and the ayes and noes on any question 
shall, at the request of any two members, be entered on the journal. 

Sec. 13. The sessions of each house and of the committees of 
the whole shall be open unless the business is such as requires 
secrecy. 

Sec. 14. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, 
adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that 
in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 15. The members of the legislative assembly shall, in all 
cases, except treason, felony, violation of their oath of office and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance 


104 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


at the sessions of their respective houses, and in going to and re¬ 
turning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either house 
they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

Sec. 16. The sole power of impeachment shall vest in the house 
of representatives; the concurrence of a majority of all the members 
being necessary to the exercise thereof. Impeachment shall be tried 
by the senate sitting for that purpose and the senators shall be upon 
oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. 
When the governor or lieutenant-governor is on trial, the chief justice 
of the supreme court shall preside. No person shall be convicted 
without a concurrence of two-thirds of the senators elected. 

Sec. 17. The governor and other state and judicial officers, ex¬ 
cept justices of the peace, shall be liable to impeachment for high 
crimes and misdemeanors, or malfeasance in office, but judgment in 
such cases shall only extend to removal from office and disqualifica¬ 
tion to hold any office of honor, trust or profit under the laws of 
the state. The party whether convicted or acquitted shall, neverthe¬ 
less, be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment accord¬ 
ing to law. 

Sec. 18. All officers not liable to impeachment shall be subject 
to removal for misconduct or malfeasance in office, in such manner 
as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 19. No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall 
be so altered or amended on its passage through either house as to 
change its original purpose. 

Sec. 20. The enacting clause of every law shall be as follows: 
“Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Mon¬ 
tana. 1 ’ 

Sec. 21. No bill for the appropriation of money, except for the 
expenses of the government, shall be introduced within ten days of 
the close of the session, except by unanimous consent of the house 
in which it is sought to be introduced. 

Sec. 22. No bill shall be considered or become a law unless re¬ 
ferred to a committee, returned therefrom and printed for the use of 
the members. 

Sec. 23. No bill, except general appropriation bills, and bills 
for the codification and general revision of the laws, shall be passed 
containing more than one subject which shall be clearly expressed 
in its title; but if any subject shall be embraced in any act which 


GOVEBNMENT OF MONTANA. 


105 

shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so 
much thereof as shall not be so expressed. 

Sec. 24. No bill shall become a law except by a vote of a 
majority of all the members present in each house, nor unless on 
its final passage, the vote be taken by ayes and noes, and the names 
of those voting be entered on the journal. 

Sec. 25. No law shall be revised or amended, or the provisions 
thereof extended by reference to its title only, but so much thereof 
as is revised, amended or extended shall be re-enacted and published 
at length. 

Sec. 26. The legislative assembly shall not pass local or special 
laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say: For 
granting divorces; laying out, opening, altering or working roads 
or highways; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys or public 
grounds; locating or changing county seats; regulating county or 
township affairs; regulating the practice in courts of justice; regu¬ 
lating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace, police 
magistrates or constables; changing the rules of evidence in any 
trial or inquiry; providing for changes of venue in civil or crim¬ 
inal cases; declaring any person of age; for limitation of civil 
actions, or giving effect to informal or invalid deeds; summoning 
or impaneling grand or petit juries; providing for the management 
of common schools; regulating the rate of interest on money; the 
opening or conducting of any election or designating the place of 
voting; the sale or mortgage of real estate belonging to minors or 
others under disability; chartering or licensing ferries or bridges 
or toll roads; chartering banks, insurance companies and loan and 
trust companies; remitting fines, penalties or forfeitures; creating, 
increasing or decreasing fees, percentages or allowances of public 
officers; changing the law of descent; granting to any corporation, 
association or individual the right to lay down railroad tracks, or 
any special or exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise whatever; 
for the punishment of crimes; changing the names of persons or 
places; for the assessment or collection of taxes; affecting estates of 
deceased persons, minors or others under legal disabilities; extend¬ 
ing the time for the collection of taxes; refunding money paid into 
the state treasury; relinquishing or extinguishing in whole or in 
part the indebtedness, liability or obligation of any corporation or 
person to this state, or to any municipal corporation therein; ex» 


106 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


empting property from taxation; restoring to citizenship persons 
convicted of infamous crimes; authorizing the creation, extension or 
impairing of liens; creating offices, or prescribing the powers or 
duties of officers in counties, cities, townships, or school districts; or 
authorizing the adoption or legitimation of children. In all other 
cases where a general law can be made applicable, no special law 
shall be enacted. 

Sec. 27. The presiding officer of each house shall, in the pres¬ 
ence of the house over which he presides, sign all bills and joint 
resolutions passed by the legislative assembly immediately after 
their titles have been publicly read, and the fact of signing shall be 
at once entered upon the journal. 

Sec. 28. The legislative assembly shall prescribe by law, the 
number, duties and compensation of the officers and employes of 
each house; and no payment shall be made from the state treasury, 
or be in any way authorized to any such person, except to an acting 
officer or employe elected or appointed in pursuance of law. 

Sec. 29. No bill shall be passed giving any extra compensation 
to any public officer, servant or employe, agent or contractor, after 
services shall have been rendered or contract made, nor providing 
for the payment of any claim made against the state without pre¬ 
vious authority of law, except as may be otherwise provided herein. 

Sec. 30. All stationery, printing, paper, fuel and lights used 
in the legislative and other departments of government, shall be 
furnished, and the printing, and binding and distribution of the 
laws, journals, and department reports and other printing and 
binding, and the repairing and furnishing the halls and rooms used 
for the meeting of the legislative assembly, and its committees shall 
be performed under contract, to be given to the lowest responsible 
bidder, below such maximum price and under such regulations as may 
be prescribed by law. No member or officer of the government shall 
be in any way interested in any such contract; and all such contracts 
shall be subject to the approval of the governor and state treasurer. 

Sec. 31. Except as otherwise provided in this constitution, no 
law shall extend the term of any public officer, or increase or diminish 
his salary or emolument after his election or appointment; Provided, 
That this shall not be construed to forbid the legislative assembly 
from fixing the salaries or emoluments of those officers first elected 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 107 

or appointed under this constitution, where such salaries or emolu¬ 
ments are not fixed by this constitution. 

Sec. 32. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house 
of representatives; but the senate may propose amendments, as in 
the case of other bills. 

Sec. 33. The general appropriation bills shall embrace nothing 
but appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the legislative, ex¬ 
ecutive and judicial departments of the state, interest on the public 
debt and for public schools. All other appropriations shall be made 
by separate bills, each embracing but one subject. 

Sec. 34. No money shall be paid out of the treasury except upon 
appropriations made by law, and on warrant drawn by the proper 
officer in pursuance thereof, except interest on the public debt. 

Sec. 35. No appropriation shall be made for charitable, indus¬ 
trial, educational or benevolent purposes to any person, corporation 
or community not under the absolute control of the state, nor to any 
denominational or sectarian institution or association. 

Sec. 36. The legislative assembly shall not delegate to any spe¬ 
cial commission, private corporation or association, any power to 
make, supervise or interfere with any municipal improvements, 
money, property or effects, whether held in trust or otherwise, or 
to levy taxes, or to perform any municipal functions whatever. 

Sec. 37. No act of the legislative assembly shall authorize the 
investment of trust funds by executors, administrators, guardians, 
or trustees in the bonds or stock of any private corporation. 

Sec. 38. The legislative assembly shall have no power to pass 
any law authorizing the state, or any county in the state, to con¬ 
tract any debt or obligation in the construction of any railroad, nor 
give or loan its credit to or in aid of the construction of the same. 

Sec. 39. No obligation or liability of any person, association 
or corporation, held or owned by the state, or any municipal cor¬ 
poration therein, shall ever be exchanged, transferred, remitted, re¬ 
leased or postponed, or in any way diminished by the legislative as¬ 
sembly; nor shall such liability or obligation be extinguished, except 
by the payment thereof into the proper treasury. 

Sec. 40. Every order, resolution or vote, in which the con¬ 
currence of both houses may be necessary, except on the question of 
adjournment, or relating solely to the transaction of the business 
of the two houses, shall be presented to the governor, and before 


108 


crvics FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


it shall take effect be approved by him, or, being disapproved, be 
repassed by two-thirds of both houses, as prescribed in the case of 
a bill. 

Sec. 41. If any person elected to either house of the legislative 
assembly shall offer or promise to give his vote or influence in favor 
of or against any measure or proposition, pending or proposed to 
be introduced into the legislative assembly, in consideration or upon 
condition that any other person elected to the same legislative as¬ 
sembly will give, or will promise or assent to give, his vote or influ¬ 
ence, in favor of or against any other measure or proposition pend¬ 
ing or proposed to be introduced into such legislative assembly, the 
person making such offer or promise shall be deemed guilty of 
solicitation of bribery. If any member of the legislative assembly 
shall give his vote or influence for or against any measure or proposi¬ 
tion pending or proposed to be introduced in such legislative assem¬ 
bly, or offer, promise or assent so to, upon condition that any other 
member will give, or will promise or assent to give his vote or in¬ 
fluence in favor of or against any other measure or proposition pend¬ 
ing or proposed to be introduced in such legislative assembly, or in 
consideration that any other member hath given his vote or influ¬ 
ence for or against any other measure or proposition in such legis¬ 
lative assembly, he shall be deemed guilty of bribery, and any mem¬ 
ber of the legislative assembly, or person elected thereto, who shall 
be guilty of either such offenses, shall be expelled and shall not 
thereafter be eligible to the legislative assembly, and on the convic¬ 
tion thereof in the civil courts, shall be liable to such further penalty 
as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 42. Any person who shall directly or indirectly offer, give 
or promise any money or thing of value, testimonial, privilege or per¬ 
sonal advantage, to any executive or judicial officer or member of 
the legislative assembly, to influence him in the performance of any 
of his official or public duties, shall be deemed guilty of bribery, 
and be punished in such manner as shall be provided by law. 

Sec. 43. The offense of corrupt solicitation of members of the 
legislative assembly, or of public officers of the state, or of any 
municipal division thereof, and the occupation or practice of solicita¬ 
tion of such members or officers, to influence their official action, 
shall be defined by law, and shall be punishable by fine and imprison¬ 
ment. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


109 


Sec. 44. A member who has a personal or private interest in any 
measure or bill proposed or pending before the legislative assembly 
shall disclose the fact to the house of which he is a member, and 
shall not vote thereon. 

Sec. 45. When vacancies occur in either house the governor or 
the person exercising the functions of the governor shall issue writs 
of election to fill the same. 

ARTICLE VI. 

APPORTIONMENT AND REPRESENTATION. 

Section 1. One representative in the congress of the United 
States shall be elected from the state at large, the first Tuesday in 
October, 1889, and thereafter at such times and places, and in such 
manner as may be prescribed by law. When a new apportionment 
shall be made by congress the legislative assembly shall divide the 
state into congressional districts accordingly. 

Sec. 2. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for an 
enumeration of the inhabitants of the state in the year 1895 and 
every tenth year thereafter; and at the session next following such 
enumeration, and also at the session next following an enumeration 
made by the authority of the United States, shall revise and adjust 
the apportionment for representatives on the basis of such enumera¬ 
tion according to ratios to be fixed by law. 

Sec. 3. Representative districts may be altered from time to 
time as public convenience may require. When a representative dis¬ 
trict shall be composed of two or more counties, they shall be con¬ 
tiguous, and the districts as compact as may be. No county shall be 
divided in the formation of representative districts. 

Sec. 4. Whenever new counties are created, each of said coun¬ 
ties shall be entitled to one senator, but in no case shall a senatorial 
district consist of more than one county. 

Sec. 5. The senatorial districts of the state shall be constituted 
and numbered as follows: 

The county of Beaverhead shall constitute the First district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Madison shall constitute the Second district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 


110 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


The county of Gallatin shall constitute the Third district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Jefferson shall constitute the Fourth district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Deer Lodge shall constitute the Fifth district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Missoula shall constitute the Sixth district, and be 
entitled to one senator. 

The county of Lewis and Clark shall constitute the Seventh dis¬ 
trict, and be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Chouteau shall constitute the Eighth district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Meagher shall constitute the Ninth district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Silver Bow shall constitute the Tenth district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Custer shall constitute the Eleventh district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Yellowstone shall constitute the Twelfth district, 
and be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Dawson shall constitute the Thirteenth district, 
and be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Fergus shall constitute the Fourteenth district, 
and be entitled to one senator. 

The county of Park shall constitute the Fifteenth district, and bo 
entitled to one senator. 

The county of Cascade shall constitute the Sixteenth district, and 
be entitled to one senator. 

Sec. 6. Until an apportionment of representatives be made in 
accordance with the provisions of this article, they shall be divided 
among the several counties of the state in the following manner: 

The county of Beaverhead shall have two (2). 

The county of Madison shall have two (2). 

The county of Gallatin shall have two (2). 

The county of Jefferson shall have three (3). 

The county of Deer Lodge shall have seven (7). 

The county of Missoula shall have five (5). 

The county of Lewis and Clark shall have eight (8). 

The county of Chouteau shall have two (2). 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


Ill 


The county of Meagher shall have two (2). 

The county of Silver Bow shall have ten (10). 

The county of Custer shall have two (2). 

The county of Yellowstone shall have one (1). 

The county of Fergus shall have two (2). 

The county of Park shall have two (2). 

The county of Cascade shall have two (2). 

The counties of Dawson and Cascade shall have one (1) jointly. 

The counties of Deer Lodge and Beaverhead shall have one (1) 
jointly. 

The counties of Jefferson and Gallatin shall have one (1) jointly. 
ARTICLE VII. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1 . The executive department shall consist of a governor, 
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treas¬ 
urer, state auditor and superintendent of public instruction, each of 
whom shall hold his office for four years, or until his successor is 
elected and qualified, beginning on the first Monday of January next 
succeeding his election, except that the terms of office of those who 
are elected at the first election, shall begin when the state shall be 
admitted into the union, and shall end on the first Monday of Janu¬ 
ary, A. D. 1893. The officers of the executive department, except¬ 
ing the lieutenant governor, shall during their terms of office reside 
at the seat of government, where they shall keep the public records, 
books and papers. They shall perform such duties as are prescribed 
in this constitution and by the laws of the state. The state treasurer 
shall not be eligible to his office for the succeeding term. 

Sec. 2. The officers provided for in section 1 of this article, shall 
be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the time and place 
of voting for members of the legislative assembly, and the persons 
respectively, having the highest number of votes for the office voted 
for shall be elected; but if two or more shall have an equal and the 
highest number of votes for any one of said offices, the two houses 
of the legislative assembly, at its next regular session, shall forthwith, 
by joint ballot, elect one of such persons for said office. The returns 
of election for the officers named in section 1 shall be made in such 
manner as may be prescribed by law, and all contested elections of 


112 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


the same, other than provided for in this section, shall be determined 
as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor, 
lieutenant governor, or superintendent of public instruction, unless 
he shall have attained the age of thirty years at the time of his 
election, nor to the office of secretary of state, state auditor, or state 
treasurer, unless he shall have attained the age of twenty-five years, 
nor to the office of attorney general unless he shall have attained the 
age of thirty years, and have been admitted to practice in the 
supreme court of the state, or territory of Montana, and be in good 
standing at the time of his election. In addition to the qualifica¬ 
tions above prescribed, each of the officers named shall be a citizen 
of the United States, and have resided within the state or territory 
two years next preceding his election. 

Sec. 4. Until otherwise provided by law, the governor, secre¬ 
tary of state, state auditor, treasurer, attorney general and superin¬ 
tendent of public instruction, shall quarterly as due, during their 
continuance in office, receive for their services compensation, which is 
fixed as follows: 

Governor, five thousand dollars per annum; 

Secretary of state, three thousand dollars per annum; 

Attorney general, three thousand dollars per annum; 

State treasurer, three thousand dollars per annum; 

State auditor, three thousand dollars per annum; 

Superintendent of public instruction, two thousand five hundred 
dollars per annum. 

The lieutenant governor shall receive the same per diem as may 
be prescribed by law, for the speaker of the legislative assembly, to 
be allowed only during the sessions of the legislative assembly. 

The compensation enumerated shall be in full for all services by 
said officers respectively rendered in any official capacity or employ¬ 
ment whatever during their respective terms of office, and the salary 
of no official shall be increased during his term of office. No officer 
named in this section shall receive, for the performance of any 
official duty, any fee for his own use, but all fees fixed by law for the 
performance by any officer of any official duty, shall be collected in 
advance, and deposited with the state treasurer quarterly to the 
credit of the state. No officer mentioned in this section shall be 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


113 


eligible to, or hold any other public office, except member of the 
state board of education during his term of office. 

Sec. 5. The supreme executive power of the state shall be vested 
in the governor, who shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. 

Sec. 6. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia 
forces of the state, except when these forces are in the actual service 
of the United States, and shall have power to call out any part or 
the whole of said forces to aid in the execution of the laws, to sup¬ 
press insurrection or to repel invasion. 

Sec. 7. The governor shall nominate, and by and with the con¬ 
sent of the senate, appoint all officers whose offices are established by 
this constitution, or which may be created by law, and whose appoint¬ 
ment or election is not otherwise provided for. If during a recess 
of the senate a vacancy occur in any such office, the governor shall 
appoint some fit person to discharge the duties thereof until the next 
meeting of the senate, when he shall nominate some person to fill such 
office. If the office of secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, 
attorney general, or superintendent of public instruction shall be va¬ 
cated by death, resignation or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the 
governor to fill the same by appointment, and the appointee shall 
hold his office until his successor shall be elected and qualified. 

Sec. 8. The legislative assembly shall provide for a state ex¬ 
aminer, who shall be appointed by the governor and confirmed by 
the senate. His duty shall be to examine the accounts of the state 
treasurer, supreme court clerks, district court clerks, and all county 
treasurers, and treasurers of such other public institutions as may 
be prescribed by law, and he shall perform such other duties as the 
legislative assembly may prescribe. He shall report at least once a 
year and oftener if required to such officers as may be designated 
by the legislative assembly. His compensation shall be fixed by law. 

Sec. 9. The governor shall have the power to grant pardons, 
absolute and conditional, and to remit fines and forfeitures, and to 
grant commutation of punishments and respites after conviction 
and judgment for any offenses committed against the criminal laws 
of this state; Provided, however, That before granting pardons, re¬ 
mitting fines and forfeitures, or commuting punishments, the action 
of the governor concerning the same shall be approved by a board, 
or a majority thereof, composed of the secretary of state, attorney 
general and state auditor, who shall be known as the board of par- 


114 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


dons. The legislative assembly shall by law prescribe the sessions of 
said board, and regulate the proceedings thereof. But no fine or 
forfeitures shall be remitted, and no commutation or pardon granted, 
except upon the approval of a majority of said board after a full 
hearing in open session and until notice of the time and place of 
such hearing, and of the relief sought, shall have been given by pub¬ 
lication in some newspaper of general circulation in the county where 
the crime was committed, at least once a week for two weeks. The 
proceedings and decisions of the board shall be reduced to writing, 
and with their reasons for their action in each case, and the dissent 
of any member who may disagree, signed by them and filed, with all 
papers used upon the hearing, in the office of the secretary of state. 
The governor shall communicate to the legislative assembly, at each 
regular session, each case of remission of fine or forfeiture, reprieve, 
commutation or pardon granted since the last previous report, stat¬ 
ing the name of the convict, the crime of which he was convicted, the 
sentence and its date, and the date of remission, commutation, pardon 
or reprieve, with the reasons for granting the same and the objec¬ 
tions, if any, of any member of the board made thereto. 

Sec. 10. The governor may require information in writing from 
the officers of the executive department upon any subject relating 
to the duties of their respective offices, which information shall be 
given upon oath whenever so required; he may also require infor¬ 
mation in writing, at any time, under oath, from all officers and 
managers of state institutions, upon any subject relating to the con¬ 
dition, management and expenses of their respective offices and 
institutions, and may, at any time he deems it necessary, appoint 
a committee to investigate and report to him upon the condition of 
any executive office or state institution. The governor shall at the 
beginning of each session, and from time to time by message, give 
to the legislative assembly information of the state, and shall recom¬ 
mend such measures as he shall deem expedient. He shall also send 
to the legislative assembly a statement with vouchers of the expendi¬ 
tures of all moneys belonging to the state and paid out by him. He 
shall also at the beginning of each session present estimates the 
amount of money required to be Taised by taxation for all purposes nf 
the state. 

Sec. 11. He may on extraordinary occasions convene the legis¬ 
lative assembly by proclamation, stating the purposes for which it is 


GOVEENMENT OF MONTANA. 


115 


convened, but when so convened, it shall have no power to legislate on 
any subjects other than those specified in the proclamation, or which 
may be recommended by the governor, but may provide for the ex¬ 
penses of the session and other matters incidental thereto. He may 
also by proclamation, convene the senate in extraordinary session for 
the transaction of executive business. 

Sec. 12. Every bill passed by the legislative assembly shall, 
before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he ap¬ 
prove, he shall sign it, and thereupon it shall become a law, but if 
he do not approve, he shall return it with his objections to the 
house in which it originated, which house shall enter the objections 
at large upon its journal and proceed to reconsider the bill. If then 
two-thirds of the members present agree to pass the same, it shall 
be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which 
it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of 
the members present in that house it shall become a law notwith¬ 
standing the objections of the governor. In all such cases the vote of 
each house shall be determined by yeas and nays, to be entered on the 
journal. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within five 
days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, 
the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
the legislative assembly shall by their adjournment prevent its re¬ 
turn, in which case it shall not become a law, without the approval of 
the governor. No bill shall become a law after the final adjournment 
of the legislative assembly, unless approved by the governor within 
fifteen days after such adjournment. In case the governor shall fail 
to approve of any bill after the final adjournment of the legislative 
assembly it shall be filed, with his objections, in the office of the sec¬ 
retary of state. 

Sec. 13. The governor shall have power to disapprove of any 
item or items of any bill making appropriations of money, embrac¬ 
ing distinct items, and the part or parts approved shall become a 
law, and the item or items disapproved shall be void, unless enacted 
in the manner following: If the legislative assembly be in session 
he shall within five days transmit to the house in which the bill 
originated, a copy of the item or items thereof disapproved, to¬ 
gether with his objections thereto, and the items objected to shall 
be separately reconsidered, and each item shall take the same course 
as is prescribed for the passage of bills over the executive veto. 


116 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Sec. 14. In case of the failure to qualify, the impeachment or 
conviction cf felony or infamous crime of the governor, or his 
death, removal from ofhce, resignation, absence from the state or 
inability to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the powers, 
duties and emoluments of the office, for the residue of the term, or 
until the disability shall cease, shall devolve upon the lieutenant- 
governor. 

Sec. 15. The lieutenant governor shall be president of the senate, 
but shall vote only when the senate is equally divided. In case of 
the absence or disqualification of the lieutenant governor, from any 
cause which applies to the governor, or when he shall hold the office 
of governor, then the president pro tempore of the senate shall per¬ 
form the duties of the lieutenant governor until the vacancy is filled 
or the disability removed. 

Sec. 16. In case of the failure to qualify in his office, death, 
resignation, absence from the state, impeachment, conviction of 
felony or infamous crime, or disqualification from any cause, of 
both the governor and the lieutenant governor, the duties of the gov¬ 
ernor shall devolve upon the president pro tempore of the senate 
until such disqualification of either the governor or lieutenant gov¬ 
ernor be removed, or the vacancy filled, and i 2 the president pro 
tempore of the senate, for any of the above named causes, shall be¬ 
come incapable of performing the duties of governor, the same 
shall devolve upon the speaker of the house. 

Sec. 17. The first legislative assembly shall provide a seal for 
the state, which shall be kept by tl~ secretary of state and used by 
him officially, and known as the great seal of the state of Montana. 

Sec. 18. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and 
by the authority of the state of Montana, sealed with the great seal 
of the state, signed by the governor, and countersigned by the secre¬ 
tary of state. 

Sec. 19. An account shall be kept by the officers of the executive 
department, and of all public institutions of the state of all moneys 
received by them, severally from all sources, and for every service 
performed, and of all moneys disbursed by them severally, and a 
semi-annual report hereof shall be made to the governor, under oath; 
they shall also, at least twenty days preceding each regular session 
of the legislative assembly, make full and complete reports of their 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


117 


official transactions to the governor, who shall transmit the same to 
the legislative assembly. 

Sec. 20. The governor, secretary of state and attorney general 
shall constitute a board of state prison commissioners, which board 
shall have such supervision of all matters connected with the state 
prisons as may be prescribed by law. They shall constitute a board 
of examiners, with power to examine all claims against the state, 
except salaries or compensation of officers fixed by law, and per¬ 
form such other duties as may be prescribed by law. And no claims 
against the state except for salaries and compensation of officers fixed 
by law, shall be passed upon by the legislative assembly without first 
having been considered and acted upon by said board. The legislative 
assembly may provide for the temporary suspension of the state 
treasurer by the governor, when the board of examiners deem such 
action necessary for the protection of the moneys of the state. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENTS. 

Section 1. The judicial power of the state shall be vested in 
the senate sitting as a court of impeachment, in a supreme court, 
district court, justices of the peace, and such other inferior courts 
as the legislative assembly may establish in any incorporated city or 
town. 

Sec. 2. The supreme court, except as otherwise provided in 
this constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall 
be co-extensive with the state, and shall have a general supervisory 
control over all inferior courts, under such regulations and limitations 
as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 3. The appellate jurisdiction of the supreme court shall 
extend to all cases at law and in equity, subject, however, to such 
limitations and regulations as may be prescribed by law. Said 
court shall have power in its discretion to issue and to hear and de¬ 
termine writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo-warranto, certiorari, 
prohibition and injunction, and such other original and remedial 
writs as may be necessary or proper to complete exercise of its appel¬ 
late jurisdiction. When a jury is required in the supreme court to 
determine an issue of fact, said court shall have power to summon 
such jury in such manner as may be provided by law. Each of the 


118 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


justices of the supreme court shall have power to issue writs of 
habeas corpus to any part of the state, upon petition by or on be¬ 
half of, any person held in actual custody, and may make such writs 
returnable before himself, or the supreme court, or before any dis¬ 
trict court of the state or any judge thereof; and such writs may be 
heard and determined by the justice or court, or judge, before whom 
they are made returnable. Each of the justices of the supreme court 
may also issue and hear and determine writs of certiorari in pro¬ 
ceedings for contempt in the district court, and such other writs as he 
may be authorized by law to issue. 

Sec. 4. At least three terms of the supreme court shall be held 
each year at the seat of government. 

Sec. 5. The supreme court shall consist of three justices, a ma¬ 
jority of whom shall be necessary to form a quorum or pronounce 
a decision, but one or more of said justices may adjourn the court 
from day to day, or to a day certain, and the legislative assembly 
shall have the power to increase the number of such justices to not 
less nor more than five. 

[In case any justice or justices of the supreme court shall be in 
any way disqualified to sit in a cause brought before such court, the 
remaining justice or justices shall have powder to call on one or more 
of the district judges of this state as in the particular case may be 
necessary to constitute the full number of justices of which the 
said court shall then be composed, to sit with them in the hearing 
of said cause. 

In all cases where a district judge is invited to sit and does sit 
as by this section provided, the decision and opinion of such district 
judge shall have the same force and effect in any case heard before 
the court as if regularly participated in by a justice of the supreme 
court.] 1 

Sec. 6. The justices of the supreme court shall be elected by 
electors of the state at large, as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 7. The term of office of the justices of the supreme court, 
except as in this constitution otherwise provided, shall be six years. 

Sec. 8. There shall be elected at the first general election, pro¬ 
vided for by this constitution, one chief justice and two associate 
justices of the supreme court. At said first election the chief justice 

1 The two paragraphs enclosed in brackets were added to the consti¬ 
tution by an amendment proposed by the Sixth Legislative Assembly, and 
ratified at the general election, November 6, 1900. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


119 


shall be elected to hold his office until the general election in the 

year one thousand eight hundred ninety-two (1892), and one of the 

associate justices to hold his office until the general election in the 
year one thousand eight hundred ninety-four (1894), and the other 
associate justice to hold his office until the general election in the 

year one thousand eight hundred ninety-six (1896), and each shall 

hold until his successor is elected and qualified. The terms of office 
of said justices, and which one shall be chief justice, shall at the 
first and all subsequent elections be designated by ballot. After 
said first election one chief justice or one associate justice shall be 
elected at the general election every two years, commencing in the 
year one thousand eight hundred ninety-two (1892), and if the 
legislative assembly shall increase the number of justices to five, the 
first terms of office of such additional justices shall be fixed by law 
in such manner that at least one of the five justices shall be elected 
every two years. The chief justice shall preside at all sessions of 
the supreme court, and in case of his absence, the associate justice 
having the shortest term to serve shall preside in his stead. 

Sec. 9. There shall be a clerk of the supreme court, who shall 
hold his office for the term of six years, except that the clerk 
first elected shall hold his office only until the general election in 
the year one thousand eight hundred ninety-two (1892), and until 
his successor is elected and qualified. He shall be elected by the 
electors at large of the state, and his compensation shall be fixed 
by law, and his duties prescribed by law, and by the rules of the 
supreme court. 

Sec. 10. No person shall be eligible to the office of justice of 
the supreme court, unless he shall have been admitted to practice 
law in the supreme court of the territory or state of Montana, be 
at least thirty years of age, and a citizen of the United States, nor 
unless he shall have resided in said territory or state at least two 
years next preceding his election. 

DISTRICT COURTS. 

Sec. 11. The district court shall have original jurisdiction in 
all cases at law and in equity, including all cases which involve the 
title or right of possession of real property, or the legality of <^y 
tax, impost, assessment, toll or municipal fine, and in all cases in 


120 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


which the debt, damage, claim or demand, exclusive of interest, 
or the value of the property in controversy exceeds fifty dollars; 
and in all criminal cases amounting to felony, and in all cases of 
misdemeanor not otherwise provided for; of actions of forcible entry 
and unlawful detainer; of proceedings in insolvency; of actions to 
prevent or abate a nuisance; of all matters of probate; of actions 
of divorce and for annullment of marriage, and for all such special 
actions and proceedings as are not otherwise provided for. And 
said courts shall have the power of naturalization, and to issue 
papers therefor, in all cases where they are authorized so to do by 
the laws of the United States. They shall have appellate jurisdic¬ 
tion in sueh cases arising in justices’ and other inferior courts in 
their respective districts as may be prescribed by law, and con¬ 
sistent with this constitution. Their process shall extend to all parts 
of the state, provided that all actions for the recovery of, the pos¬ 
session of, quieting the title to, or for the enforcement of liens upon 
real property, shall be commenced in the county in which the real 
property, or any part thereof, affected by such action or actions, is 
situated. Said courts and the judges thereof shall have power also 
to issue, hear and determine writs of mandamus, quo warranto, cer¬ 
tiorari, prohibition, injunction and other original and remedial writs, 
and also all writs of habeas corpus on petition by, or on behalf of, 
any person held in actual custody in their respective districts. In¬ 
junctions, writs of prohibition and habeas corpus, may be issued and 
served on legal holidays and non-judicial days. 

Sec. 12. The state shall be divided into judicial districts, in 
each of which there shall be elected by the electors thereof one 
judge of the district court, whose term of office shall be four years, 
except that the district judges first elected shall hold their offices 
only until the general election in the year one thousand eight hun¬ 
dred and ninety-two (1892), and until their successors are elected 
and qualified. Any judge of the district court may hold court for 
any other district judge, and shall do so when required by law. 

Sec. 13. Until otherwise provided by law the judicial districts 
of the state shall be constituted as follows: First district, Lewis 
and Clark county; Second district, Silver Bow county; third dis¬ 
trict, Deer Lodge county; Fourth district, Missoula county; Fifth 
district, Beaverhead, Jefferson and Madison counties; Sixth dis¬ 
trict, Gallatin, Park and Meagher counties; Seventh district, Yel- 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


121 


lowstone, Custer and Dawson counties; Eighth district, Chouteau, 
Cascade and Fergus counties. 

Sec. 14. The legislative assembly may increase or decrease the 
number of judges in any judicial district; provided, that there shall 
be at least one judge in any district established by law; and may 
divide the state, or any part thereof, into new districts; provided, 
that each be formed of compact territory and be bounded by county 
lines, but no changes in the number or boundaries of districts shall 
work a removal of any judge from office during the term for which 
he has been elected or appointed. 

Sec. 15. Writs of error and appeals shall be allowed from the 
decisions of the said district courts to the supreme court under such 
regulations as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 16. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of 
the district court unless he be at least twenty-five years of age and 
a citizen of the United States, and shall have been admitted to 
practice law in the supreme court of the territory or state of Mon¬ 
tana, nor unless he shall have resided in this state or territory at 
least one year next preceding his election. He need not be a resi¬ 
dent of the district for which he is elected at the time of his elec¬ 
tion, but after his election he shall reside in the district for which 
he is elected during his term of office. 

Sec. 17. The district court in each county which is a judicial 
district by itself shall be always open for the transaction of busi¬ 
ness, except on legal holidays and non-judicial days. In each dis¬ 
trict where two or more counties are united, until otherwise provided 
by law, the judges of such district shall fix the term of court, pro¬ 
vided that there shall be at least four terms a year held in each 
county. 

Sec. 18. There shall be a clerk of the district court in each 
county, who shall be elected by the electors of his county. The 
clerk shall be elected at the same time and for the same term as the 
district judge. The duties and compensation of the said clerk shall 
be as provided by law. 

COUNTY ATTORNEYS. 

Sec. 19. There shall be elected at the general election in each 
county of the state one county attorney, whose qualifications shall 


122 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


be the same as are required for a judge of the district court, except 
that he must be over twenty-one years of age, but need not be 
twenty-five years of age, and whose term of office shall be two years, 
except that the county attorneys first elected shall hold their offices 
until the general election in the year one thousand eight hundred 
and ninety-two (1892), and until their successors are elected and 
qualified. He shall have a salary to be fixed by law, one-half of 
which shall be paid by the state, and the other half by the county 
for w r hich he is elected, and he shall perform such duties as may be 
required by law. 


JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 

Sec. 20. There shall be elected in each organized township of 
each county by the electors of such township at least two justices 
of the peace, who shall hold their offices except as otherwise pro¬ 
vided in this constitution, for the term of two years. Justices' 
courts shall have such original jurisdiction within their respective 
counties as may be prescribed by law, except as in this constitution 
otherwise provided; provided, that they shall not have jurisdiction 
in any case where the debt, damage, claim or value of the property 
involved exceeds the sum of three hundred dollars. 

Sec. 21. Justices’ courts shall not have jurisdiction in any case 
involving the title or right of possession of real property, nor in 
cases of divorce, nor for annullment of marriage, nor of cases in 
equity; nor shall they have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, 
mandamus, certiorari, quo warranto, injunction, or prohibition, nor 
the power of naturalization; nor shall they have jurisdiction in cases 
of felony, except as examining courts; nor shall criminal cases in 
said courts be prosecuted by indictment; but said courts shall have 
such jurisdiction in criminal matters, not of the grade of felony, as 
may be provided by law; and shall also have concurrent jurisdiction 
with the district courts, in cases of forcible entry and unlawful de¬ 
tainer. 

Sec. 22. Justices’ courts shall always be open for the transac¬ 
tion of business, except on legal holidays and non-judicial days. 

Sec. 23. Appeals shall be allowed from justices’ courts, in all 
cases, to the district courts, in such manner and under such regu¬ 
lations as may be prescribed by law. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


123 


POLICE AND MUNICIPAL COURTS. 

Sec. 24. The legislative assembly shall have power to provide 
for creating such police and municipal courts and magistrates for 
cities and towns as may be deemed necessary from time to time, who 
shall have jurisdiction in all cases arising under the ordinances of 
such cities and towns, respectively; such police magistrates may also 
be constituted ex officio justices of the peace for their respective 
counties. 

Sec. 25. The supreme and district courts shall be courts of 
record. 

Sec. 26. All laws relating to courts shall be general and of uni¬ 
form operation throughout the state; and the organization, jurisdic¬ 
tion, powers, proceedings and practice of all courts of the same class 
or grade, so far as regulated by law, shall be uniform. 

Sec. 27. The style of all process shall be “The State of Mon¬ 
tana” and all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name and by 
the authority of the same. 

Sec. 28. There shall be but one form of civil action, and law 
and equity may be administered in the same action. 

Sec. 29. The justices of the supreme court and the judges of 
the district courts shall each be paid quarterly by the state, a salary 
which shall not be increased or diminished during the terms for 
which they shall have been respectively elected. Until otherwise 
provided by law, the salary of the justices of the supreme court 
shall be four thousand dollars per annum each, and the salary of 
the judges of the district courts shall be three thousand five hundred 
dollars per annum each. 

Sec. 30. No justice of the supreme court nor judge of the dis¬ 
trict court shall accept or receive any compensation, fee, allowance, 
mileage, perquisite or emolument for or on account of his office in 
any form whatever, except the salary provided by law. 

Sec. 31. No justice or clerk of the supreme court, nor judge or 
clerk of any district court shall act or practice as an attorney, or 
counsellor at law in any court of this state during his continuance in 
office. 

Sec. 32. The legislative assembly may provide for the publica¬ 
tion of decisions and opinions of the supreme court. 

Sec. 33. All officers provided for in this article, excepting jus¬ 
tices of the supreme court, who shall reside within the state, shall 


124 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


respectively reside during their term of office in the district, county, 
township, precinct, city or town for which they may be elected or 
appointed. 

Sec. 34. Vacancies in the office of justice of the supreme court, 
or judge of the district court, or clerk of the supreme court, shall 
be filled by appointment, by the governor of the state, and vacan¬ 
cies in the offices of county attorneys, clerk of the district court, 
and justices of the peace shall be filled by appointment by the 
board of county commissioners of the county where such vacancy 
occurs. A person appointed to fill any such vacancy shall hold his 
office until the next general election and until his successor is elected 
and qualified. A person elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office 
until the expiration of the term for which the person he succeeds 
was elected. 

Sec. 35. No justice of the supreme court or district judge shall 
hold any other public office while he remains in the office to which 
he has been elected or appointed. 

Sec. 36. A civil action in the district court may be tried by a 
judge pro tempore, who must be a member of the bar of the state, 
agreed upon in writing by the parties litigant, or their attorneys 
of record, approved by the court, and sworn to try the cause; and 
in such case any order, judgment or decree, made or rendered therein 
by such judge pro tempore, shall have the same force and effect as 
if made or rendered by the court with the regular judge presiding. 

Sec. 37. Any judicial officer who shall absent himself from the 
state for more than sixty consecutive days shall be deemed to have 
forfeited his office. 


ARTICLE IX. 

RIGHTS OF SUFFRAGE AND QUALIFICATIONS TO HOLD OFFICE. 

Section 1. All elections of the people shall be by ballot. 

Sec. 2. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years or 
over, possessing the following qualifications, shall be entitled to vote 
at all general elections and for all officers that now are, or here¬ 
after may be, elective by the people and upon all questions which 
may be submitted to the vote of the people: First, he shall be a 
citizen of the United States; second, he shall have resided in this 
state one year immediately preceding the election at which he offers 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


125 


to vote, and in the town, county or precinct such time as may be 
prescribed by law; provided, first, that no person convicted of felony 
shall have the right to vote unless he has been pardoned; provided, 
second, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to deprive 
any person of the right to vote who has such right at the time of 
the adoption of this constitution; provided, that after the expiration 
of five years from the time of the adoption of this constitution no 
person except citizens of the United States shall have the right to 
vote. 

Sec. 3. For the purpose of voting no person shall be deemed to 
have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence 
while employed in the service of the state, or of the United States, 
nor while a student at any institution of learning, nor while kept 
at any alms-house or other asylum at the public expense, nor while 
confined in any public prison. 

Sec. 4. Electors shall in all cases, except treason, felony or 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attend¬ 
ance at elections and in going to and returning therefrom. 

Sec. 5. No elector shall be obliged to perform military duty on 
the days of election, except in time of war or public danger. 

Sec. 6. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy of 
the United States shall be deemed a resident of this state in conse¬ 
quence of being stationed at any military or naval place within the 
same. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be elected or appointed to any office 
in this state, civil or military, who is not a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not have resided in this state at least one year 
next before his election or appointment. 

Sec. 8. No idiot or insane person shall be entitled to vote at any 
election in this state. 

Sec. 9. The legislative assembly shall have the power to pass 
a registration and such other laws as may be necessary to secure 
the purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective 
franchise. 

Sec. 10. Women shall be eligible to hold the office of county 
superintendent of schools or any school district office and shall have 
the right to vote at any school district election. 

Sec. 11. Any person qualified to vote at general elections and 
for state officers in this state shall be eligible to any office therein 


126 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


except as otherwise provided in this constitution, and subject to 
such additional qualifications as may be prescribed by the legislative 
assembly for city offices and offices hereafter created. 

Sec. 12. Upon all questions submitted to the vote of the tax¬ 
payers of the state, or any political division thereof, women who 
are tax-payers and possessed of the qualifications for the right of 
suffrage required of men by this constitution shall equally, with 
men, have the right to vote. 

Sec. 13. In all elections held by the people under this constitu¬ 
tion, the person or persons who shall receive the highest number of 
legal votes shall be declared elected. 

ARTICLE X. 

STATE INSTITUTIONS AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

Section 1. Educational, reformatory and penal institutions, and 
those for the benefit of the insane, blind, deaf and mute, soldiers ’ 
home, and such other institutions as the public good may require, 
shall be established and supported by the state in such a manner 
as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 2. At the general election in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and ninety-two, the question of permanent location of the 
seat of government is hereby provided to be submitted to the quali¬ 
fied electors of the state and the majority of all the votes upon said 
question shall determine the location thereof. In case there shall 
be no choice of location at said election, the question of choice be¬ 
tween the two places for which the highest number of votes shall 
have been cast shall be, and is hereby submitted in like manner 
to the qualified electors at the next general election thereafter; pro¬ 
vided, that until the seat of government shall have been permanently 
located the temporary seat of government shall be and remain in 
the city of Helena. 

Sec. 3. When the seat of government shall have been located 
as herein provided the location thereof shall not thereafter be 
changed, except by a vote of two-thirds of all the qualified electors 
of the state voting on that question at a general election at which 
the question of the location of the seat of government shall have 
been submitted by the legislative assembly. 

Sec. 4. The legislative assembly shall make no appropriations 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


127 


or expenditures for capital buildings or grounds until the seat of 
government shall have been permanently located, as herein provided. 

Sec. 5. The several counties of the state shall provide as may 
be prescribed by law for those inhabitants, who, by reason of age, 
infirmity or misfortune, may have claims upon the sympathy and aid 
of society. 

ARTICLE XI. 

EDUCATION. 

Section 1 . It shall be the duty of the legislative assembly of 
Montana to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough 
system of public, free, common schools. 

Sec. 2. The public school fund of the state shall consist of the 
proceeds of such lands as have heretofore been granted, or may 
hereafter be granted, to the state by the general government, known 
as school lands; and those granted in lieu of such; lands acquired 
by gift or grant from any person or corporation, under any law 
or grant of the general government; and of all other grants of land 
or money made to the state from the general government for gen¬ 
eral educational purposes, or where no other special purpose is in¬ 
dicated in such grant; all estates, or distributive shares of the 
estates that may escheat to the state; all unclaimed shares and divi¬ 
dends of any corporation incorporated under the laws of the state, 
and all other grants, gifts, devises or bequests made to the state for 
general educational purposes. 

Sec. 3. Such public school fund shall forever remain inviolate, 
guaranteed by the state against loss or diversion, to be invested, so 
far as possible, in public securities within the state, including school 
district bonds, issued for the erection of school buildings, under the 
restrictions to be provided by law. 

Sec. 4. The governor, superintendent of public instruction, secre¬ 
tary of state and attorney general shall constitute the state board 
of land commissioners, which shall have the direction, control, leasing 
and sale of the school lands of the state, and the lands granted or 
which may hereafter be granted for the support and benefit of the 
various state educational institutions, under such regulations and 
restrictions as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 5. The interest on all invested school funds of the state, 
and all rents accruing from the leasing of any school lands, shall 


128 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


be apportioned to the several school districts of the state in pro¬ 
portion to the number of children and youths between the ages of 
six and twenty-one years, residing therein respectively, but no dis¬ 
trict shall be entitled to such distributive share that does not main¬ 
tain a public free school for at least three months during the year 
for which distributions shall be made. 

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the legislative assembly to pro¬ 
vide by taxation, or otherwise, sufficient means, in connection with 
the amount received from the general school fund, to maintain a 
public, free, common school in each organized district in the state, 
for at least three months in each year. 

Sec. 7. The public free schools of the state shall be open to all 
children and youth between the ages of six and twenty-one years. 

Sec. 8. Neither the legislative assembly, nor any county, city, 
town, or school district, or other public corporations, shall ever make 
directly or indirectly, any appropriation, or pay from any public 
fund or moneys whatever, or make any grant of land or other 
property in aid of any church, or for any sectarian purpose, or to 
aid in the support of any school, academy, seminary, college, uni¬ 
versity, or other literary, scientific institution, controlled in whole 
or in part by any church, sect or denomination whatever. 

Sec. 9. No religious or partisan test or qualification shall ever 
be required of any person as a condition of admission into any pub¬ 
lic educational institution of the state, either as teacher or student; 
nor shall attendance be required at any religious service whatever, 
nor shall any sectarian tenets be taught in any public educational 
institution of the state; nor shall any person be debarred admission 
to any of the collegiate departments of the university on account of 
sex. 

Sec. 10. The legislative assembly shall provide that all elec¬ 
tions for school district officers shall be separate from those elections 
at which state or county officers are voted for. 

Sec. 11. The general control and supervision of the state univer¬ 
sity and the various other state educational institutions shall be 
vested in a state board of education, whose powers and duties shall 
be prescribed and regulated by law. The said board shall consist 
of eleven members, the governor, state superintendent of public in¬ 
struction, and attorney general, being members ex officio, the other 
eight members thereof shall be appointed by the governor, subject 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


129 


to the confirmation of the senate, under the regulations and re¬ 
strictions to be provided by law. 

Sec. 12. The funds of the state university and of all other state 
institutions of learning, from whatever source accruing, shall for¬ 
ever remain inviolate and saeTed to the purpose for which they were 
dedicated. The various funds shall be respectively invested under 
such regulations as may be prescribed by law, and shall be guar¬ 
anteed by the state against loss or diversion. The interest of said 
invested funds, together with the rents from leased lands or prop¬ 
erties, shall be devoted to the maintenance and perpetuation of these 
respective institutions. 


ARTICLE XII. 

REVENUE AND TAXATION. 

Section 1. The necessary revenue for the support and main¬ 
tenance of the state shall be provided by the legislative assembly, 
which shall levy a uniform rate of assessment and taxation, and 
shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for 
taxation of all property, except that specially provided for in this 
article. The legislative assembly may also impose a license tax, both 
upon persons and upon corporations doing business in the state. 

Sec. 2. The property of the United States, the state, counties, 
cities, towns, school districts, municipal corporations, and public 
libraries shall be exempt from taxation; and such other property 
as may be used exclusively for agricultural and horticultural so¬ 
cieties, for educational purposes, places for actual religious wor¬ 
ship, hospitals and places of burial not used or held for private or 
corporate profit, and institutions of purely public charity may be 
exempt from taxation. 

Sec. 3. All mines and mining claims, both placer and rock in 
place, containing or bearing gold, silver, copper, lead, coal, or other 
valuable mineral deposits, after purchase thereof from the United 
States, shall be taxed at the price paid the United States therefor, 
unless the surface ground, or some part thereof, of such mine or 
claim is used for other than mining purposes, and has a separate 
and independent value for such other purposes, in which case said 
surface ground, or any part thereof, so used for other than mining 
purposes, shall be taxed at its value for such other purposes, as pro- 


130 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


vided by law; and all machinery used in mining, and all property 
and surface improvements upon or appurtenant to mines and mining 
claims which have a value separate and independent of such mines 
or mining claims, and the annual net proceeds of all mines and 
mining claims shall be taxed as provided by law. 

Sec. 4. The legislative assembly shall not levy taxes upon the 
inhabitants or property in any county, city, town, or municipal cor¬ 
poration for county, town, or municipal purposes, but it may by law 
vest in the corporate authorities thereof powers to assess and collect 
taxes for such purposes. 

Sec. 5. Taxes for city, town and school purposes may be levied 
on all subjects and objects of taxation, but the assessed valuation of 
any property shall not exceed the valuation of the same property 
for state and county purposes. 

Sec. 6. No county, city, town or other municipal corporation, 
the inhabitants thereof nor the property therein, shall be released 
or discharged from their or its proportionate share of state taxes. 

Sec. 7. The power to tax corporations or corporate property shall 
never be relinquished or suspended, and all corporations in this state, 
or doing business therein, shall be subject to taxation for state, 
county, school, municipal and other purposes, on real and personal 
property owned or used by them and not by this constitution ex¬ 
empted from taxation. 

Sec. 8. Private property shall not be taken or sold for the 
corporate debt of public corporations, but the legislative assembly 
may provide by law for the funding thereof, and shall provide by 
law for the payment thereof, including all funded debts and obli¬ 
gations, by assessment and taxation of all private property not 
exempt from taxation within the limits of the territory over which 
such corporations respectively have authority. 

Sec. 9 1 . The rate of taxation on real and personal property for 
state purposes, except as hereinafter provided, shall never exceed two 
and one-half mills on each dollar of valuation; and whenever the tax¬ 
able property of the state shall amount to six hundred million dollars 
($600,000,000), the rate shall never exceed two mills on each dollar 
of valuation, unless the proposition to increase such rate, specifying 
the rate proposed and the time during which the rate shall be levied 
shall have been submitted to the people at the general election and 
shall have received a majority of all votes cast for and against it at 

x As amended at the general election in 1910. 


GOVEENMENT OF MONTANA. 


131 


such election: Provided, that in addition to the levy for state pur¬ 
poses above provided for, a special levy in addition may be made 
on live stock for the purpose of paying bounties on wild aminals and 
for stock inspection, protection, and indemnity purposes, as may be 
prescribed by law, and such special levy shall be made and levied 
annually in amount not exceeding four mills on the dollar by the 
state board of equalization, as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 10. All taxes levied for state purposes shall be paid into 
the state treasury, and no money shall be drawn from the treasury 
but in pursuance of specific appropriations made by law. 

Sec. 11. Taxes shall be levied and collected by general laws 
and for public purposes only. They shall be uniform upon the 
same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority 
levying the tax. 

Sec. 12. No appropriation shall be made or any expenditures 
authorized by the legislative assembly whereby the expenditures of 
the state during any fiscal year shall exceed the total tax then pro¬ 
vided for by law, and applicable to such appropriation or ex¬ 
penditure, unless the legislative assembly making such appropria¬ 
tion shall provide for levying a sufficient tax, not exceeding the 
rate allowed in section nine (9) of this article, to pay such appro¬ 
priations or expenditures within such fiscal year. This provision 
shall not apply to appropriations or expenditures to suppress in¬ 
surrection, defend the state, or assist in defending the United States 
in time of war. No appropriations of public moneys shall be made 
for a longer term than two years. 

Sec. 13. The state treasurer shall keep a separate account of 
each fund in his hands, and shall at the end of each quarter of the 
fiscal year report to the governor in writing under oath, the amount 
of all moneys in his hands to the credit of every such fund, and 
the place or places where the same is kept or deposited, and the 
number and amount of every warrant paid or redeemed by him 
during the quarter. The governor, or other person or persons au¬ 
thorized by law, shall verify said report and cause the same to be 
immediately published in at least one newspaper printed at the seat 
of government, and otherwise as the legislative assembly may re¬ 
quire. The legislative assembly may provide by law further regu¬ 
lations for the safe keeping and management of the public funds 
in the hands of the treasurer; but, notwithstanding any such regu¬ 
lations, the treasurer and his sureties shall, in all cases, be held 
responsible therefor. 


132 


CIVICS FG3 MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Sec. 14 1 . The governor, the state auditor, and the state treasurer 
are hereby constituted a state depository board with full power and 
authority to designate depositories with which all funds in the hands 
of the state treasurer shall be deposited, and at such rate of interest 
as may be prescribed by law. When money shall have been deposited 
under direction of said depository board and in accordance with the 
law, the treasurer shall not be liable for loss on account of any such 
deposit occurring through damage by the elements or for any other 
cause or reason occasioned through means other than his own neglect, 
fraud, or dishonorable conduct. The making of profit out of public 
moneys, or using the same for any purpose not authorized by law, by 
the state treasurer or by any other public officer, shall be deemod a 
felony, and shall be punished as provided for by law, and part of 
such punishment shall be disqualification to hold any public office. 

Sec. 15. The governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state 
auditor and attorney general shall constitute a state board of 
equalization and the board of county commissioners of each county 
shall constitute a county board of equalization. The duty of the 
state board of equalization shall be to adjust and equalize the 
valuation of the taxable property among the several counties of 
the state. The duty of the county boards of equalization shall be 
to adjust and equalize the valuation of taxable property within their 
respective counties. Each board shall also perform such other duties 
as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 16. All property shall be assessed in the manner prescribed 
by law except as is otherwise provided in this constitution. The 
franchise, roadway, roadbed, rails and rolling stock of all railroads 
operated in more than one county in this state shall be assessed by 
the state board of equalization and the same shall be apportioned 
to the counties, cities, towns, townships and school districts in 
which such railroads are located, in proportion to the number of 
miles of railway laid in such counties, cities, towns, townships and 
school districts. 

Sec. 17. The word property as used in this article is hereby 
declared to include moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, franchises and 
all matters and things (real, personal and mixed) capable of pri¬ 
vate ownership, but this shall not be construed so as to authorize 
the taxation of the stocks of any company or corporation when 
the property of such company or corporation represented by such 
stocks is within the state and has been taxed. 

Sec. 18. The legislative assembly shall pass all laws, necessary 
to carry out the provisions of this article. 

1 As amended at the general election in 1908. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


133 


ARTICLE XIII. 

PUBLIC INDEBTEDNESS. 

Section 1. Neither the state, nor any county, city, town, munici¬ 
pality, nor other subdivision of the state shall ever give or loan its 
credit in aid of, or make any donation or grant, by subsidy or other¬ 
wise, to any individual, association or corporation, or become a sub¬ 
scriber to, or a shareholder in, any company or corporation or a joint 
owner with any person, company or corporation, except as to such 
ownership as may accrue to the state by operation or provision of law. 

Sec. 2. The legislative assembly shall not in any manner create 
any debt except by law which shall be irrepealable until the indebted¬ 
ness therein provided for shall have been fully paid or discharged; such 
law shall specify the purpose to which the funds so raised shall be 
applied and provide for the levy of a tax sufficient to pay the interest 
on, and extinguish the principal of such debt within the time limited 
by such law for the payment thereof; but no debt or liability shall be 
created which shall singly, or in the aggregate with any existing debt 
or liability, exceed the sum of one hundred thousand dollars 
($100,000), except in case of war, to repel invasion or suppress insur¬ 
rection, unless the law authorizing the same shall have been submitted 
to the people at a general election and shall have received a majority 
of the votes cast for and against it at such election. 

Sec. 3. All moneys borrowed by, or on behalf of the state or any 
county, city, town, municipality or other subdivision of the state, shall 
be used only for the purpose specified in the law authorizing the loan. 

Sec. 4. The state shall not assume the debt or any part thereof, of 
any county, city, town or municipal corporation. 

Sec. 5. No county shall be allowed to become indebted in any 
manner, or for any purpose, to an amount, including existing indebted¬ 
ness, in the aggregate, exceeding five (5) per centum of the (value of 
the) taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment 
for state and county taxes previous to the incurring of such indebted¬ 
ness, and all bonds or obligations in excess of such amount given by, 
or on behalf of, such county shall be void. No county shall incur any 
indebtedness or liability for any single purpose to an amount exceeding 
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), without the approval of a majority of 
the electors thereof, voting at an election to be provided by law. 

Sec. 6. No city, town, township or school district shall be al¬ 
lowed to become indebted in any manner or for any purpose to an 
amount, including existing indebtedness, in the aggregate exceed- 


134 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


ing three per centum of the value of the taxable property therein, 
to be ascertained by the last assessment for the state and county 
taxes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness, and all bonds 
or obligations in excess of such amount given by, or on behalf of, 
such city, town, township or school district shall be void; provided, 
however, that the legislative assembly may extend the limit men¬ 
tioned in this section, by authorizing municipal corporations to sub¬ 
mit the question to a vote of the tax-payers affected thereby, when 
such increase is necessary to construct a sewerage system or to pro¬ 
cure a supply of water for such municipality which shall own and 
control said w 7 ater supply and devote the revenues derived therefrom 
to the payment of the debt. 

AETICLE XIV. 

MILITARY AFFAIRS. 

Section 1. The militia of the state of Montana shall consist of 
all able-bodied male citizens of the state between the ages of 
eighteen (18) and forty-five (45) years inclusive, except such per¬ 
sons as may be exempted by the laws of the state or of the United 
States. 

Sec. 2. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for the 
organization, equipment, and discipline of the militia and shall 
make rules and regulations for the government of the same. The 
organization shall conform as nearly as practicable to the regula¬ 
tions for the government of the armies of the United States. 

Sec. 3. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for main¬ 
taining the militia by appropriations from the treasury of the state. 

Sec. 4. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for the 
safe keeping of the public arms, military records, relics and ban¬ 
ners of the state. 

Sec. 5. When the governor shall, with the consent of the legis¬ 
lative assembly, be out of the state in time of war at the head of 
any military force thereof, he shall continue commander-in-chief 
of all the military forces of the state. 

AETICLE XV. 

corporations other than municipal. 

Section 1. All existing charters, or grants of special or exclu¬ 
sive privileges, under which the corporations or grantees shall not 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


135 


have organized or commenced business in gor 1 faith at the time of 
the adoption of this constitution, shall there After have no validity. 

Sec. 2. No charter of incorporations shall be granted, extended, 
changed or amended by special law, except for such municipal, 
charitable, educational, penal, or reformatory corporations hereafter 
to be created; provided, that any such laws shall be subject to 
future repeal or alterations by the legislative assembly. 

Sec. 3. The legislative assembly shall have the power to alter, 
revoke or annul any charter of incorporation existing at the time 
of the adoption of this constitution, or which may be hereafter in¬ 
corporated, whenever in its opinion it may be injurious to the citi¬ 
zens of the state. 

Sec. 4. The legislative assembly shall provide by law that in all 
elections for directors or trustees of incorporated companies, every 
stockholder shall have the right to vote in person or by proxy the 
number of shares of stock owned by him for as many persons as 
there are directors or trustees to be elected, or to cumulate said 
shares, and give one candidate as many votes as the number of 
directors multiplied by the number of his shares of stock shall 
equal, or to distribute them, on the same principle, among as many 
candidates as he shall think fit, and such directors or trustees shall 
not be elected in any other manner. 

Sec. 5. All railroads shall be public highways, and all railroad, 
transportation and express companies shall be common carriers and 
subject to legislative control, and the legislative assembly shall 
have the power to regulate and control by law the rates of charges 
for the transportation of passengers and freight by such com¬ 
panies as common carriers from one point to another in the state. 
Any association or corporation, organized for the purpose, shall 
have the right to construct and operate a railroad between any 
designated points within this state and to connect at the state line 
with railroads of other states and territories. Every railroad com¬ 
pany shall have the right with its road to intersect, connect with, or 
cross any other railroad. 

Sec. 6. No railroad corporation, express, or other transporta¬ 
tion company, or the lessees or managers thereof, shall consolidate 
its stock, property or franchises with any other railroad corpora¬ 
tion, express or other transportation company, owning or having 
under its control a parallel or competing line; neither shall it in 


136 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


any manner unite its business or earnings with the business or 
earnings of any other railroad corporation; nor shall any officer of 
such railroad, express, or other transportation company act as an 
officer of any other railroad company, express, or other transpor¬ 
tation company owning or having control of a parallel or competing 
line. 

Sec. 7. All individuals, associations and corporations shall have 
equal rights to have persons or property transported on and over 
any railroad, transportation or express route in this state. No dis¬ 
crimination in charges or facilities for transportation of freight or 
passengers of the same class shall be made by any railroad, or 
transportation, or express company, between persons or places 
within this state; but excursions or commutation tickets may be 
issued and sold at special rates, provided such rates are the same 
to all persons. No railroad, or transportation, or express com¬ 
pany, shall be allowed to charge, collect, or receive, under penalties 
which the legislative assembly shall prescribe, any greater toll for 
the transportation of freight or passengers to any place or station 
upon its route or line, than it charges for the transportation of the 
same class of freight or passengers to any more distant place 
or station upon its route or line within this state. No railroad, ex¬ 
press, or transportation company, nor any lessee, manager or other 
employe thereof, shall give any preference to any individual, asso¬ 
ciation or corporation, in furnishing cars or motive power, or for 
the transportation of money or other express matter. 

Sec. 8. No railroad, express, or other transportation company, 
in existence at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall 
have the benefit of any future legislation, without first filing in 
the office of the secretary of state an acceptance of the provisions 
of this constitution in binding form. 

Sec. 9. The right of eminent domain shall never be abridged, 
nor so construed as to prevent the legislative assembly from taking 
the property and franchises of incorporated companies, and sub¬ 
jecting them to public use the same as the property of individuals; 
and the police powers of the state shall never be abridged, or so 
construed, as to permit corporations to conduct their business in 
such manner as to infringe the equal rights of individuals, or the 
general well being of the state. 

Sec. 10. No corporation shall issue stocks or bonds, except for 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


137 


labor done, services performed, or money and property actually 
received; and all fictitious increase of stock or indebtedness shall 
be void. The stock of corporations shall not be increased except 
in pursuance of general law, nor without the consent of the persons 
holding a majority of the stock first obtained at a meeting held 
after at least thirty days’ notice given in pursuance of law. 

Sec. 11. No foreign corporation shall do any business in this 
state without having one or more known places of business, and 
an authorized agent or agents in the same, upon whom process may 
be served. And no company or corporation formed under the laws 
of any other country, state or territory, shall have, or be allowed 
to exercise, or enjoy within this state any greater rights or privi¬ 
leges than those possessed or enjoyed by corporations of the same 
or similar character created under the laws of the state. 

Sec. 12. No street or other railroad shall be constructed within 
any city or town without the consent of the local authorities having 
control of the street or highway proposed to be occupied by such 
street or other railroad. 

Sec. 13. The legislative assembly shall pass no law for the 
benefit of a railroad or other corporation, or any individual or asso¬ 
ciation of individuals, retrospective in its operation, or which im¬ 
poses on the people of any county or municipal subdivision of the 
state, a new liability in respect to transactions or considerations 
already passed. 

Sec. 14. Any association or corporation, or the lessees or man¬ 
agers thereof, organized for the purpose, or any individual, shall 
have the right to construct or maintain lines of telegraph or tele¬ 
phone within this state, and connect the same with other lines; 
and the legislative assembly shall by general law of uniform opera¬ 
tion provide reasonable regulations to give full effect to this sec¬ 
tion. No telegraph or telephone company shall consolidate with, 
or hold a controlling interest in, the stock or bonds of any other 
telegraph or telephone company, owning or having control of a 
competing line, or acquire by purchase or otherwise, any other com¬ 
peting line of telegraph or telephone. 

Sec. 15. If any railroad, telegraph, telephone, express, or other 
corporation or company organized under any of the laws of this 
state, shall consolidate, by sale or otherwise, with any railroad, 
telegraph, telephone, express, or other corporation, organized under 


138 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


any of the laws of any other state or territory of the United States, 
the same shall not become a foreign corporation, but the courts of 
this state shall retain jurisdiction over that part of the corporate 
property within the limits of the state, in all matters that may 
arise as if said consolidation had not taken place. 

Sec. 16. It shall be unlawful for any person, company or cor¬ 
poration to require of its servants or employes, as a condition of 
their employment or otherwise, any contract or agreement whereby 
such persons, company or corporation, shall be released or discharged 
from liability or responsibility on account of personal injuries re¬ 
ceived by such servants or employes while in the service of such 
person, company or corporation, by reason of the negligence of such 
person, company or corporation, or the agents or employes thereof; 
and such contracts shall be absolutely null and void. 

Sec. 17. The legislative assembly shall not pass any law per¬ 
mitting the leasing or alienation of any franchise so as to release or 
relieve the franchise or property held thereunder from any of the 
liabilities of the lessor or grantor, or lessee or grantee, contracted 
or incurred in the operation, use or enjoyment of such franchise, 
or any of its privileges. 

Sec. 18. The term ‘ 1 corporation, ’ ’ as used in this article shall 
be held and construed to include all associations and joint stock 
companies, having or exercising any of the powers or privileges of 
corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships; and all 
corporations shall have the right to sue, and shall be subject to be 
sued in all courts in like cases as natural persons, subject to such 
regulations and conditions as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 19. Dues from private corporations shall be secured by 
such means as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 20. No incorporation, stock company, person or associa¬ 
tion of persons in the state of Montana, shall directly or indirectly 
combine or form what is known as a trust, or make any contract with 
any person or persons, corporations, or stock company, foreign or 
domestic, through their stockholders, trustees, or in any manner what¬ 
ever, for the purpose of fixing the price, or regulating the production 
of any article of commerce, or of the product of the soil, for con¬ 
sumption by the people. The legislative assembly shall pass laws 
for the enforcement thereof by adequate penalties to the extent, 
if necessary fcr that purpose, of the forfeiture of their property 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


139 

and franchises, and in case of foreign corporations prohibiting 
them from carrying on business in the state. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS AND OFFICERS. 

Section 1. The several counties of the territory of Montana, 
•as they shall exist at the time of the admission of the state into 
the union are hereby declared to be the counties of the state until 
otherwise established or changed by law. 

Sec. 2. The legislative assembly shall have no power to remove 
the county seat of any county, but the same shall be provided for 
by general law; and no county seat shall be removed unless a ma¬ 
jority of the qualified electors of the county, at a general election on 
a proposition to remove the county seat, shall vote therefor; but 
no such proposition shall be submitted oftener than once in four 
years. 

Sec. 3. In all cases of the establishment of a new county it 
shall be held to pay its ratable proportion of all then existing lia¬ 
bilities of the county or counties from which it is formed, less the 
ratable proportion of the value of the county buildings and property 
of the county or counties from which it is formed; provided, that 
nothing in this section shall prevent the re-adjustment of county 
lines between existing counties. 

Sec. 4. In each county there shall be elected three county com¬ 
missioners, whose term of office shall be six years; provided, that 
the term of office of those elected on November 6th, 1900, shall 
expire on the first Monday in January, 1907; provided further, that 
at the general election to be held in November, 1902 (in counties 
where commissioners are to be elected that year), three commis¬ 
sioners shall be elected whose terms shall expire on the first Monday 
in January, 1907; provided further, that at the general election to 
be held in November, 1906, one commissioner shall be elected for a 
term of two years, one commissioner shall be elected for a term of 
four years, and one commissioner shall be elected for a term of 
six years, whose term of office shall commence on the said first Mon¬ 
day of January, 1907; and provided further, that at each general 
election thereafter commencing with the general election to be held 
in November, 1908, one commissioner shall be elected for a terra 


140 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


of six years. A vacancy in the board of county commissioners shall 
be filled by appointment by the judge of the judicial district in 
■which the vacancy occurs. 1 

Sec. 5. There shall be elected in each county the following 
officers: One county clerk, who shall be clerk of the county com¬ 
missioners and ex officio recorder; one sheriff; one treasurer, who 
shall be collector of taxes; provided, that no person shall hold the 
office of county treasurer for more than two consecutive terms; one 
county superintendent of schools; one county surveyor; one as¬ 
sessor; one coroner; one public administrator. Persons elected to 
the different offices named in this section shall hold their respective 
offices for the term of two years, and until their successors are 
elected and qualified. Vacancies in all county, township and precinct 
offices, except that of county commissioners, shall be filled by ap¬ 
pointment by the board of county commissioners, and the appointee 
shall hold his office until the next general election. 

Sec. 6. The legislative assembly may provide for the election 
or appointment of such other county, township, precinct and munici¬ 
pal officers as public convenience may require and their terms of 
office shall be as prescribed by law, not in any case to exceed two 
years, except as in this constitution otherwise provided. 

ARTICLE XVII. 

PUBLIC LANDS. 

Section 1. All lands of the state that have been, or that may 
hereafter be granted to the state by congress, and all lands acquired 
by gift or grant or devise, from any person or corporation, shall be 
public lands of the state, and shall be held in trust for the people, 
to be disposed of as hereafter provided, for the respective purposes 
for which they have been or may be granted, donated or devised; 
and none of such land, nor any estate or interest therein, shall 
ever be disposed of except in pursuance of general laws providing 
for such disposition, nor unless the full market value of the estate 

1 In the original constitution this section read as follows : “In each 
county there shall be elected three county commissioners whose term of 
office shall be four years. A vacancy in the board of county commis¬ 
sioners shall be filled by appointment by the district judge of the district 
in which the vacancy occurs.” The section printed above is an amend¬ 
ment proposed by the Seventh Legislative Assembly, and ratified at the 
general election, November 4, 1902. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


141 


or interest disposed of, to be ascertained in such manner as may 
be provided by law, be paid or safely secured to the state; nor shall 
any lands which the state holds by grant from the United States 
(in any case in which the manner of disposal and minimum price 
are so prescribed) be disposed of, except in the manner and for at 
least the price prescribed in the grant thereof, without the consent 
of the United States. Said lands shall be classified by the board 
of land commissioners as follows: First, lands which are valuable 
only for grazing purposes. Second, those which are principally 
valuable for the timber that is on them. Third, agricultural lands. 
Fourth, lands within the limits of any town or city or within three 
miles of such limits; provided , that any of said lands may be re¬ 
classified whenever, by reason of increased facilities for irrigation 
or otherwise, they shall be subject to different classification. 

Sec. 2. The lands of the first of said classes may be sold or 
leased, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by 
law. The lands of the second class may be sold, or the timber there¬ 
on may be sold, under such rules and regulations as may be pre¬ 
scribed by law. The agricultural lands may be either sold or leased, 
under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law. 
The lands of the fourth class shall be sold in alternate lots of not 
more than five acres each, and not more than one-half of any one 
tract of such lands shall be sold prior to the year one thousand nine 
hundred and ten (1910). 

Sec. 3. All public lands may be disposed of in such manner as 
may be provided by law. 


ARTICLE XVIII. 

LABOR. 

Section 1. The legislative assembly may provide for a bureau 
of agriculture, labor and industry, to be located at the capital and 
be under the control of a commissioner appointed by the governor 
subject to the confirmation of the senate. The commissioner shall 
hold his office for four years, and until his successor is appointed 
and qualified, his compensation shall be as provided by law. 

Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful for the warden or other officer of 
any state penitentiary or reformatory institution in the state of 
Montana, or for any state officer to let by contract to any person 


142 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


or persons or corporation the labor of any convict confined within 
said institutions. 

Sec. 3. It shall be unlawful to employ children under the age of 
sixteen years of age in underground mines. 

Sec. 4. A period of eight hours shall constitute a day’s work 
on all works or undertakings carried on or aided by any municipal, 
county or state government, and on all contracts let by them, and 
in mills and smelters for the treatment of ores, and in underground 
mines. 

Sec. 5. The legislature by appropriate legislation shall provide 
for the enforcement of the provisions of this article. 1 

ARTICLE XIX. 

MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS AND FUTURE AMENDMENTS. 

Section 1. Members of the legislative assembly and all officers, 
executive, ministerial or judicial, shall before they enter upon the 
duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following 
oath or affirmation, to-wit: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 
I will support, protect and defend the constitution of the United 
States, and the constitution of the state of Montana, and that I 
will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity; and that I have 
not paid or contributed, or promised to pay or contribute, either 
directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing to procure 
my nomination or election (or appointment), except for necessary 
and proper expenses expressly authorized by law; that I have not 
knowingly violated any election law of this state, or procured it 
to be done by others in my behalf; that I will not knowingly re¬ 
ceive, directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing for 
the performance or non-performance of any act or duty pertaining 
to my office other than the compensation allowed by law, so help 
me God.” And no other oath, declaration or test shall be required 
as a qualification for any office or trust. 

Sec. 2. The legislative assembly shall have no power to au¬ 
thorize lotteries, or gift enterprises for any purpose, and shall pass 
laws to prohibit the sale of lottery or gift enterprise tickets in this 
state. 

1 Sections 3, 4 and 5 were proposed by the Eighth Legislative Assembly, 
and adopted by vote of the people at the general election in 1904. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


143 


Sec. 3. The legislative assembly shall enact suitable laws to 
prevent the destruction by fire from any cause of the grasses and 
forests upon lands of the state or upon lands of the public domain 
the control of which may be conferred by congress upon this state, 
and to otherwise protect the same. 

Sec. 4. The legislative assembly shall enact liberal homestead 
and exemption laws. 

Sec. 5. No perpetuities shall be allowed, except for charitable 
purposes. 

Sec. 6. All county officers shall keep their offices at the county 
seats of their respective counties. 

Sec. 7. In the disposition of the public lands granted by the 
United States to this state, preference shall always be given to 
actual settlers thereon, and the legislative assembly shall provide 
by law for carrying this section into effect. 

Sec. 8. The legislative assembly may at any time, by a vote 
of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, submit to the 
electors of the state the question whether there shall be a conven¬ 
tion to revise, alter, or amend this constitution; and if a majority 
of those voting on the question shall declare in favor of such con¬ 
vention, the legislative assembly shall at its next session provide 
for the calling thereof. The number of members of the convention 
shall be the same as that of the house of representatives, and they 
shall be elected in the same manner, at the same places, and in the 
same districts. The legislative assembly shall in the act calling the 
convention designate the day, hour and place of its meeting, fix the 
pay of its members and officers, and provide for the payment of 
the same, together with the necessary expenses of the convention. 
Before proceeding, the members shall take an oath to support the 
constitution of the United States and of the state of Montana, and 
to faithfully discharge their duties as members of the convention. 
The qualifications of members shall be the same as of members of 
the senate, and vacancies occurring shall be filled in the manner 
provided for filling vacancies in the legislative assembly. Said con¬ 
vention shall meet within three months after such election and pre¬ 
pare such revisions, alterations or amendments to the constitution 
as may be deemed necessary, which shall be submitted to the electors 
for their ratification or rejection at an election appointed by the 
convention for that purpose, not less than two or more than six 


144 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


months after the adjournment thereof, and unless so submitted and 
approved by a majority of the electors voting at the election, no 
such revision, alteration or amendment shall take effect. 

Sec. 9. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed in 
either house of the legislative assembly; and if the same shall be 
voted for by two-thirds of the members elected to each house, such 
proposed amendments, together with the ayes and nays of each 
house thereon, shall be entered in full on their respective journals; 
and the secretary of state shall cause the said amendment or amend¬ 
ments to be published in full in at least one newspaper in each 
county (if such there be) for three months previous to the next 
general election for members of the legislative assembly; and at 
said election the said amendment or amendments shall be submitted 
to the qualified electors of the state for their approval or rejec¬ 
tion. Should more amendments than one be submitted at the same 
election, they shall be so prepared and distinguished by numbers 
or otherwise that each can be voted on separately; provided, how¬ 
ever, that not more than three amendments to this constitution shall 
be submitted at the same election. 


ARTICLE XX. 

SCHEDULE. 

That no inconvenience may arise by reason of changing from 
a territorial to a state form of government, it is declared as fol¬ 
lows: 

Section 1. All laws enacted by the legislative assembly of the 
territory of Montana and in force at the time the state shall be 
admitted into the union and not inconsistent with this constitution 
or the constitution or laws of the United States of America, shall 
be and remain in full force as the laws of the state until altered or 
repealed, or until they expire by their own limitation; provided, 
that whenever in said laws the words, ‘‘ Territory,’ * ‘‘Montana Ter¬ 
ritory’ ’ or “Territory of Montana” occur, the words “State” or 
“State of Montana” shall be appropriately substituted and read 
therefor; And, provided further, that the duties which now by law 
devolve upon probate judges as jury commissioners and in relation 
. to issuing marriage licenses and filing and recording marriage certifi¬ 
cates, and the duties as ex officio clerks of their own courts, shall, 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


145 


until otherwise provided by law, devolve upon and be performed 
by the clerks of the district courts in their respective counties; 
And, provided further, that the duties of probate judges now im¬ 
posed by law relative to town sites and to the approval of bonds of 
other county officers shall, until otherwise provided by law, be per¬ 
formed by the district judges in the several counties in their re¬ 
spective districts. 

Sec. 2. All lawful orders, judgments and decrees in civil causes, 
all contracts and claims and all lawful convictions, judgments and 
sentences in criminal actions, made and entered, or pronounced by 
the courts within the territory of Montana, and in force at the time 
the state shall be admitted into the union, shall continue and be 
and remain in full force in the state unaffected in any respect by 
the change from a territorial to a state form of government, and 
may be enforced and executed under the laws of the state. 

Sec. 3. No crime or criminal offense committed against the 
laws of the territory of Montana shall abate, or be in any wise 
affected, by reason of the change from a territorial to a state 
form of government; but the same shall be deemed and taken to 
be an offense against the laws of the state, and the appropriate 
courts of the state shall have jurisdiction over and to hear and 
determine the same; provided, that this section shall not in any wise 
be construed to change the law of the statute of limitations, or the 
due effect or application of the same. 

Sec. 4. Except as herein otherwise provided, the word “ dis¬ 
trict’ , shall be substituted and read in lieu of the word “probate” 
in the terms “probate court” or “probate judge” whenever the 
same occurs in the laws of the territory of Montana, and all said 
laws which by their terms apply to probate courts or probate judges 
shall, except as in this constitution otherwise provided, upon a 
change from territorial to state government, be deemed and taken 
to apply to district courts and district judges; provided, that all 
laws allowing fees to probate judges are hereby repealed. 

Sec. 5. Clerks of district courts, until otherwise provided by 
law, shall each perform the duties and be entitled to the same fees 
as now provided by law for clerks of the district courts of the terri¬ 
tory, and until otherwise provided by law shall also perform the 
services and be entitled to fees therefor that are now provided for 
clerks of probate courts. 


146 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Sec. Upon a change from territorial to state government the 
seals in use by the supreme court and the territorial district courts 
in and for the several counties respectively, shall pass to and be¬ 
come, until otherwise provided by law, the seals respectively of the 
supreme court and of the district courts of the state in such counties. 

Sec. 7. Prosecutions for criminal offenses against the laws of 
the territory of Montana, pending at the time the state shall be ad¬ 
mitted into the union shall not abate; but the same shall continue 
and be prosecuted in the name of the state of Montana, and the title 
of every such action shall be changed to conform to this provision. 

Sec. 8. Parties who, at the time of the admission of the state 
into the union, may be confined under lawful commitments, or other¬ 
wise lawfully held to answer for alleged violations of any of the 
criminal laws of the territory of Montana, shall continue to be so 
confined or held until discharged therefrom by the proper courts of 
the state. 

Sec. 9. All writs, processes, prosecutions, actions, causes of ac' 
tion, defenses, claims and rights of individuals, associations and 
bodies corporate existing at the time the state shall be admitted 
into the union, shall continue and be respectively executed, pro* 
ceeded with, determined, enforced and protected under the laws of 
the state. 

Sec. 10. All undertakings, bonds, obligations and recognizance* 
in force at the time the state shall be admitted into the union, which 
were executed to the territory of Montana, or any officer thereof in 
his official capacity, or to any official board for the benefit of the 
territory of Montana, are hereby respectively assigned and transferred 
to the state of Montana, to the state officer successor to said terri¬ 
torial officer, or to the official board successor to the aforesaid official 
board, for the use of the state, as the case may be, and shall be as 
valid and binding as if executed under state law to the state, or 
state officer in his official capacity, or official board, for the benefit 
of the state; and all fines, taxes, penalties and forfeitures due or 
owing to the territory of Montana or to any county, school district, 
or municipality therein, at the time the state shall be admitted into 
the union, are hereby respectively assigned ancl transferred, and the 
same shall be payable to the state, county, school district or muni¬ 
cipality, as the case may be, and payment thereof may be enforced 
under the laws of the state. 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


147 


Sec. 11. All property, real or personal, and all moneys, credits, 
claims, demands and choses in action of every kind, belonging to 
the territory of Montana at the time the state shall be admitted 
into the union, are hereby assigned and transferred to, and shall be 
vested in, and become the property of the state of Montana. 

Sec. 12. All obligations of the territory of Montana, existing, 
in force and unpaid at the time of the admission of the state into 
the union are hereby assumed by the state, which shall and will well 
and truly pay the same. 

Sec. 13. All matters, eases and proceedings pending in any pro¬ 
bate court in the territory of Montana, at the time the state shall 
be admitted into the union, and all official records, files, moneys, and 
other property of, or pertaining to such court, are hereby transferred 
to the district court in and for the same county, and such district 
court shall have full power and jurisdiction to hear, determine and 
dispose of all such matters, cases and proceedings. 

Sec. 14. All actions, cases and proceedings, and matters which 
shall be pending in the supreme and district courts of Montana 
territory at the time of the admission of the state into the union 
whereof the United States circuit or district court might have had 
jurisdiction, had such court existed at the commencement of such 
actions, cases, proceedings and matters, respectively, shall be trans¬ 
ferred to said United States circuit and district courts respectively; 
and all the files, records, indictments and proceedings relating to 
such actions, cases, proceedings and matters shall be transferred to 
said United States courts; Provided , That no civil action, cause or 
proceeding to which the United States is not a party shall be trans¬ 
ferred to either of said United States courts except upon written 
request of one of the parties thereto, and in the absence of such 
request, such case shall be proceeded with in the proper state courts. 

Sec. 15. All actions, cases, proceedings and matters pending in 
the supreme and district courts of the territory of Montana at the 
time the state shall be admitted into the union, and all files, records 
and indictments relating thereto, except as otherwise provided herein, 
shall be appropriately transferred, as may be proper, to the supreme 
and district courts of the state, respectively, and all such actions, 
cases, and matters shall be proceeded with in the proper state courts. 

Sec. 16. Upon a change from a territorial to a state govern¬ 
ment, and until otherwise provided by law, the great seal of the 


148 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


territory shall be deemed and taken to be the great seal of the 
state of Montana. 

Sec. 17. All territorial, county and township officers now occu¬ 
pying their respective positions under the laws of the territory of 
Montana, or' of the United States of America, shall continue and 
remain in their respective official positions and perform the duties 
thereof as now provided by law after the state is admitted into the 
union, and shall be considered state officers until their successors in 
office shall be duly elected and qualified, as provided by ordinance, 
notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions in this constitution, and 
shall be entitled to the same compensation for their services as is now 
established by law; Provided, That the compensation for justices of 
the supreme court, governor and secretary of the territory shall be 
paid by the state of Montana. 

Done in open convention at the city of Helena in the territory 
of Montana, this seventeenth day of August, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine. 


ORDINANCE NO. I. 

FEDERAL RELATIONS. 

Be it Ordained: First. That perfect toleration of religious 
sentiment shall be secured and that no inhabitant of the state of 
Montana shall ever be molested in person or property, on account of 
his or her mode of religious worship. 

Second. That the people inhabiting the said proposed state of 
Montana do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right 
and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boun¬ 
daries thereof, and to all lands lying within said limits owned or 
held by any Indian or Indian tribes, and that until the title thereto 
shall have been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be 
and remain subject to the disposition of the United States and said 
Indian lands shall remain under the absolute jurisdiction and control 
of the congress of the United States; that the lands belonging to 
citizens of the United States, residing without the said state of 
Montana, shall never be taxed at a higher rate than the lands be¬ 
longing to residents thereof; that no taxes shall be imposed by the 
eaid state of Montana on lands or property therein belonging to, 



GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


149 


or which may hereafter be purchased by the United States or reserved 
for its use. But nothing herein contained shall preclude the said 
state of Montana from taxing as other lands are taxed any lands 
owned or held by any Indian who has severed his tribal relations 
and has obtained from the United States or from any person a title 
thereto by patent or other grant, save and except such lands as have 
been or may be granted to any Indian or Indians under any act of 
congress containing a provision exempting the lands thus granted 
from taxation, but said last named lands shall be exempt from taxa¬ 
tion by said state of Montana so long and to such extent as such aet 
of congress may prescribe. 

Third. That the debts and liabilities of said territory of Montana 
shall be assumed and paid by the said state of Montana. 

Fourth. That provision shall be made for the establishment and 
maintenance of a uniform system of public schools, which shall be 
open to all the children of said state of Montana and free from 
sectarian control. 

Fifth. That on behalf of the people «of Montana, we, in con¬ 
vention assembled, do adopt the constitution of the United States. 

Sixth. That the ordinances in this article shall be irrevocable 
without the consent of the United States and the people of said state 
of Montana. 

Seventh. The state hereby accepts the several grants of land from 
the United States to the state of Montana, mentioned in an act of 
congress, entitled “An act to provide for the division of Dakota 
into two states, and to enable the people of North Dakota, South 
Dakota, Montana and Washington to form constitutions and state 
governments, and to be admitted into the union on an equal footing 
with the original states, and to make donations of public lands to 
such states . 11 Approved February 22d, 1889, upon the terms and 
conditions therein provided. 

ORDINANCE II. 

ELECTIONS. 

Be it Ordained by the Convention assembled to form a Constitution 
for the State of Montana: 

First. That an election shall be held throughout the territory 
of Montana on the first Tuesday of October, 1889, for the ratifi- 


150 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


cation or rejection of the constitution framed and adopted by this 
convention. 

Second. At said election the constitution framed and adopted 
by this convention shall be submitted to the people of the territory 
for their ratification or rejection, and all persons who are then quali¬ 
fied electors under the laws of this territory shall be qualified to 
vote for the ratification or rejection thereof. 

Third. Said elections shall be held at the several polling places 
and precincts throughout the territory appointed for the holding of 
elections under the laws of the territory, and shall be conducted 
in the manner prescribed by the laws of the territory regulating 
elections. The boards of county commissioners of the several coun¬ 
ties of the territory shall appoint judges and clerks of such election 
in each of said polling places and precincts in the same manner as 
is now required by law for the appointment of judges and clerks 
of general elections in the territory. 

Fourth. Each elector voting at said election shall have written 
or printed upon the ticket he may deposit in the ballot box, the 
words “For the Constitution ’ 1 or “Against the Constitution . 1 ’ 

Fifth. The votes cast at said election for the adoption or re¬ 
jection of said constitution shall be canvassed by the canvassing 
boards of the respective counties not later than fifteen days after 
said election, or sooner, if the returns from all of the precincts shall 
have been received and in the manner prescribed by the laws of the 
territory of Montana for canvassing the votes at general elections 
in said territory, and the returns of said election shall be made to 
the secretary of the territory, who with the governor, and the chief 
justice of the territory, or any two of them, shall constitute a 
board of canvassers who shall meet at the office of the secretary 
of the territory on, or before, the thirtieth day after the election, 
and canvass the votes so cast and declare the result. 

Sixth. That on the first Tuesday in 'October, 1889, there shall 
be elected by the qualified electors of Montana, a governor, a lieu¬ 
tenant governor, a secretary of state, an attorney general, a state 
treasurer, a state auditor, a state superintendent of public instruc¬ 
tion, one chief justice and two associate justices of the supreme 
court, a judge for each of the judicial districts established by this 
constitution, a clerk of the supreme court, and a clerk of the 
district court in and for each county of the state, and the members 


GOVERNMENT OF MONTANA. 


151 


of the legislative assembly provided for in this constitution. The 
terms of officers so elected shall begin when the state shall be ad¬ 
mitted into the union and shall end on the first Monday in Janu¬ 
ary, 1893, except as otherwise provided. 

Seventh. There shall be elected at the same time one repre¬ 
sentative in the fifty-first congress of the United States. 

Eighth. The votes for the above officers shall be returned and 
canvassed as is provided by law, and returns shall be made to the 
secretary of the territory and canvassed in the same manner and 
by the same board as is the vote upon the constitution, except as 
to clerk of the district court. 

Ninth. There shall also be elected at the same time the follow¬ 
ing county and township officers: Three county commissioners, one 
clerk of the board of commissioners and ex-officio recorder, one sher¬ 
iff, one county treasurer, one county superintendent of common 
schools, one county surveyor, one county assessor, one coroner, one 
public administrator, one county attorney, two justices of the peace, 
and two constables for each township. The terms of office for the 
above named officers shall begin upon the admission of the state 
and end upon the first Monday of January, A. D. 1893, except, as 
to county treasurer, whose term shall begin on the first Monday in 
March succeeding his election, and end on the first Monday of 
March, A. D. 1893, and also, as to county commissioners whose 
terms are otherwise provided for in this constitution. 

Tenth. The votes for the above county and township officers and 
for clerk of the district court, shall be returned and canvassed and 
certificates of election to said officers issued as is now provided by 
law. 

Eleventh. Notice of the election for the adoption or rejection 
of this constitution, and for state, district, county and township 
officers shall be given by the clerks of the several boards of county 
commissioners in the same manner as notice of general elections 
for delegate to congress and county officers is required to be given 
by the existing laws of the territory. 

Twelfth. That the provisions of this ordinance shall apply only 
to the election and to the officers elected on the first Tuesday of 
October, 1889. 


GOVERNORS OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 

Sidney Edgerton.1864-1866 

Green Clay Smith.1866-1869 

James M. Ashley.1869-1870 

Benjamin F. Potts. 1870-1883 

J. Schuyler Crosby.1883-1884 

B. Platt Carpenter.1884-1885 

Samuel T. Hauser .1885-1887 

Preston H. Leslie.1887-1889 

Benjamin F. White.1889 

GOVERNORS OF THE STATE OF MONTANA. 

Joseph K. Toole.1889-1893 

John E. Rickards.1893-1897 

Robert B. Smith.1897-1901 

Joseph K. Toole.1901-1908 

Edwin L. Norris.1908- 

DELEGATES IN CONGRESS FROM MONTANA TERRITORY. 

Samuel McLean.38th and 39th Congresses (1864-1867) 

James M. Cavanaugh.40th and 41st Congresses (1867-1871) 

William H. Claggett.42d Congress (1871-1873) 

Martin Maginnis.43d to 48th Congresses (1873-1885) 

Joseph K. Toole.49th and 50th Congresses (1885-1889) 

Thomas H. Carter.51st Congress (1889) 

UNITED STATES SENATORS FROM MONTANA. 

CLASS 1.1 

Wilbur F. Sanders.51st and 52d Congresses (1890-1893) 

(Vacant).53d Congress (1893-1895) 

Lee Mantle.54th and 55th Congresses (1895-1899) 

(Vacant) .56th Congress (1899-1901) 

Paris Gibson.57th and 58th Congresses (1901-1905) 

Thomas H. Carter.59th to 61st Congresses (1905-1911) 

Henry L. Myers.62d to 64th Congresses (1911-1917) 

CLASS 2.1 

T. C. Power.51st to 53d Congresses (1890-1895) 

Thomas H. Carter.54th to 56th Congresses (1895-1901) 

William A. Clark.57th to 59th Congresses (1901-1907) 

Joseph M. Dixon.60th to 62d Congresses (1907-1913) 

REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS FROM MONTANA. 

Thomas H. Carter.51st Congress (1889-1891) 

William W. Dixon.52d Congress (1891-1893) 

Charles S. Hartman.53d to 55th Congresses (1893-1899) 

A. J. Campbell.56th Congress (1899-1901) 

Caldwell Edwards.57th Congress (1901-1903) 

Joseph M. Dixon.58th and 59th Congresses (1903-1907) 

Charles N. Pray.60th to 62d Congresses (1907-1913) 

1 See page 163. 


152 








































FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


CHAPTER XII. 

HOW WE CAME TO HAVE ANOTHER GOVERNMENT. 

For many years after the establishment of the English 
colonies in America, the colonial governments, or as we now 
call them, the state governments, were almost the only gov¬ 
ernments the people thought much about. The people in 
one colony were a long distance away from those in another 
and still farther from all foreign countries, and people had 
little to do with anybody outside of their own colony. So 
far as their relations with foreigners were concerned, the 
British government did some things for them, and so long 
as the British government helped the colonies to protect 
themselves from the French and the Indians, things went 
along very well; but whenever the British government under¬ 
took much more than this, it always made trouble. And 
when danger from the French and the Indians had partially 
passed away, the American colonists were not willing to let 
the British king and parliament have much to say about 
American matters. 

It is quite important to understand this clearly, for if we 
study history carelessly, we are likely to get the notion that, 
after being governed by Great Britain for a century and a 

153 



154 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


half, the American colonists decided to “throw off the for¬ 
eign yoke.” Now the truth is that our British ancestors 
were quite well accustomed to governing themselves in Great 
Britain, and when they came to America they kept on doing 
very much as they had before. Most of the governors sent 
over from Great Britain did not undertake to interfere very 
much with the colonists doing as they liked about their own 
affairs. When the governors tried to take matters into their 
own hands, they always met with opposition, which was usu¬ 
ally successful in the long run. Finally, when George III. 
and the parliament really undertook to govern the colonies, 
the colonists rebelled, and refused any longer to give the 
British government even the nominal allegiance which they 
had formerly acknowledged. 

Colonial Union.—The colonists did not think they needed 
any government but the thirteen colonial governments. As 
soon as they began to resist the acts of George III. and the 
parliament, the people of the different colonies took counsel 
together, and several times sent delegates to meet with those 
of the other colonies and talk matters over. Some such 
meetings were the Stamp Act Congress, which met in New 
York, in 1765, and the First Continental Congress, at Phila¬ 
delphia, in 1774. 

When the Second Continental Congress met, in 1775, the 
revolutionary war had already begun. Now, in great emer¬ 
gencies somebody has to do things, and it was very natural 
that, in such an emergency as this, the Continental Congress 
should take it upon itself to do some things that needed very 
much to be done; but in sending delegates to this congress 
the colonists did not dream of setting up a new government. 1 

1 To some extent we are likely to get a wrong impression on this 
matter, because we now associate the word “congress” with government. 
In 1775, however, the word had no such significance. As Professor Fiske 
has well remarked, if the colonists had thought they were setting up a 
government, they certainly would not have called it a congress. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


155 


As has already been said, they thought the colonial or state 
governments were all they needed. 

The war with Great Britain brought the people of the 
different colonies into much closer association with one an¬ 
other than ever before, and in time they came to realize that 
there was great advantage in having all the colonies work 
together. 

Articles of Confederation.—Just about the time the war 
closed a plan, proposed by the Continental Congress four 
years before, and called “Articles of Confederation and Per¬ 
petual Union Between the States,” was adopted. This league 
was made “for their common defense, and security of their 
liberties, and their mutual and general welfare.” 1 It was 
very soon found, however, that these objects were not being 
gained, and in a very short time another plan was formed, 
which clearly and unmistakably provided for a government 
of the United States “in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the 
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure 
the blessings of liberty.” 2 

This new plan was embodied in what has proved to be one 
of the most remarkable documents in the world,—the Consti¬ 
tution of the United States of America. 

Constitution of the United States.— This document was 
drawn up by a convention of delegates from twelve 3 of the 
thirteen original states which met in Philadelphia in 1787, 
and which included many of the foremost statesmen of the 
time. George Washington was its chairman. The constitu¬ 
tion was not invented by these delegates. It was modeled 

1 Articles of Confederation, Article III. 

2 Preamble to the Constitution. 

8 Rhode Island failed to send delegates. 


156 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


almost entirely on the governments of the states, 1 with modi¬ 
fications in many of the details, to fit it to the different cir¬ 
cumstances. It is a notable fact that the few features which 
were not based on colonial experience have proved failures. 

“Connecticut Compromise.”—It was no easy task for these 
men to reach an agreement on the form of government. 
Naturally the small states feared they would come to be com¬ 
pletely controlled by the large states, while the large states 
were unwilling to agree to any plan which should not allow 
more power in the new government to them than to the 
smaller states. For a long time it seemed as if no agreement 
could ever be reached, but at last a compromise was effected 
whereby, as we shall see, when we come to study that matter 
in detail, control of the new government should be placed in 
a legislative body of two branches, in one of which the small 
states should have equal power with the large ones, while in 
the other, the states should be represented in proportion to 
the number of their inhabitants. 

“Three-Fifths Compromise.”—Another serious difficulty 
grew out of the fact that in the southern states there were 
large numbers of slaves, while slavery had almost died out in 
the north. As these slaves were not allowed a voice in the 
governments of the states where they lived, the northern dele¬ 
gates did not deem it fair to count them in determining a 
state’s share in the new government. It was finally decided 
that three-fifths of the slaves should be counted, both in this 
and in fixing each state’s contribution to the expenses of the 
national government. 

Commercial Compromise.—Finally, there was great fear 
that, if the new government had power to control foreign 
commerce by a bare majority vote, the representatives of the 

1 This is one reason why some acquaintance with state government is 
desirable before one begins to study the government of the United States. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


157 


commercial states would manage this in their own interests, 
rather than in the interest of the agricultural states. The 
agricultural states therefore insisted that laws in control of 
commerce should be enacted only by a two-thirds vote. This 
would have made it impossible for any commercial restriction 
to be adopted which was not acceptable to the agricultural 
states. 

The agricultural states finally yielded this point, however, 
in consideration of an agreement that there should be no 
interruption of the slave trade for twenty years, and that no 
duties should ever be levied on exports. 

Adoption of the Constitution.—Since the people had so 
recently been unwilling to have any government but those 
of the states, it is not strange that, when they found a na¬ 
tional government necessary, they should have wished to 
keep just as much power in the state governments as pos¬ 
sible and yield just as little as possible to the national gov¬ 
ernment. Consequently, when the constitution was made 
public, it was severely criticised, and it seemed very doubtful 
whether it would be adopted. It was proposed that the peo¬ 
ple of each state should hold a delegate convention, to discuss 
the matter and determine whether the state should ratify 
the constitution. If as many as nine states should ratify, it 
should go into effect so far as those states were concerned. 

By June, 1788, eleven states had ratified, but most of 
them by very slender majorities, North Carolina had refused, 
and in Rhode Island no convention was held. 

The industrial development of the country, and especially 
the building of railroads, has brought all parts of the United 
States into intercourse with one another, so that the im¬ 
portance of the national government has come, in the minds 
of many people, to overshadow that of the state governments; 
but there can be no doubt that in 1788 a majority of the 


158 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


people in the United States were opposed to the adoption of 
the constitution. Nevertheless, the new government went 
into operation on the fourth of March, 1789, and in course 
of the following year, North Carolina reconsidered her re¬ 
jection of the constitution, and Rhode Island gave her tardy 
consent. 

Success of the New Government.—The federal government, 
when it had actually gone into operation, proved far more 
satisfactory than had been anticipated. Doubtless the high 
character and statesmanship of some of the men, like Wash¬ 
ington, Jefferson, and Chief Justice Marshall, who were promi¬ 
nent in its beginnings, had something to do with this. But 
of even more importance was the fact that the people found 
that their liberties were not threatened by the new government 
to the extent they had feared. The reason for this was that 
most of the matters which enter into people’s everyday life 
were controlled by the state governments, 1 and the state gov¬ 
ernments were changed but very little indeed by the revolu¬ 
tion. 


1 See pages 42, 43. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In the first chapter we saw that some things can be accom¬ 
plished best by the co-operation of all the people in a com¬ 
munity, other things by the co-operation of several communi¬ 
ties, and still others by the whole nation. 

At first the people of this country thought chiefly of for¬ 
eign affairs and of relations of one state to another as the 
things that could be best managed through the co-operation 
of the whole nation. But as people in different parts of the 
country came to have more and more to do with one another, 
they realized that there were certain matters which it was 
very desirable to have uniform throughout the country, but 
which would probably be very diverse if each state managed 
them independently. We shall presently see more in detail 
what these things were, but first let us see how the govern¬ 
ment of the United States, or as it is often called, the federal 
government, is carried on. 

The Federal Government Wholly Indirect.—We saw that 
the government of the state and of the county, and the city, 
and the school district are mainly representative, though in 
some respects they are also direct or democratic, and the 
adoption of the initiative and referendum makes these gov¬ 
ernments much more democratic than they were before. 
When, however, we come to the government of the United 
States, we do not find any features of direct government at 
all. There are no questions about the federal government 
submitted directly to the people for their decision, and there 

159 


160 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


are no officers of the executive or judicial departments of that 
government chosen directly by the people. Indeed, we can¬ 
not say that it is even a representative government in so com¬ 
plete a sense as the state and local governments are, for 
even some of the representatives are chosen in so round-about 
a way that the people do not have a chance to express their 
choice. 

The Congress. —The persons who decide what shall be done 
by the government of the United States, constitute what is 
called Congress. Like the legislative assembly, this Con¬ 
gress consists of two branches, known as the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives and the Senate; but in some respects this Congress 
is very unlike the legislative assembly. 

The House of Representatives. —The House of Representa¬ 
tives is the branch which is intended to represent the people. 
At the general election the voters in each state elect the 
representatives, for the term of two years. The number of 
representatives to be chosen in any state depends on the 
number of inhabitants, except that every state, however small 
its population, has at least one representative. 

As the number of inhabitants changes, so every ten years, 
after the census has been taken, the representation is re-ar¬ 
ranged. The Congress itself determines what the total num¬ 
ber of representatives shall be. At present the number is 
436, 1 and that will continue to be the number till after the 
census of 1920, except as new states may be admitted to 
the union. The less populous states, like Nevada, Dela¬ 
ware, and Wyoming, have each one representative, and at 
the other extreme, the great state of New York has forty- 
three. 

In a state which is entitled to more than one representative, 

1 This is as nearly as possible one representative to 212,407 inhabitants. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


161 


the voters do not usually vote for several representatives, but 
the legislature generally divides the state into as many con¬ 
gressional districts as the number of representatives, trying 
to make the districts all as nearly equal in population as 
possible, and the voters of each district choose one representa¬ 
tive. 1 

Naturally we should expect that these districts should be 
arranged just as compactly as possible, but sometimes the 
party which is in the majority in a legislature tries to arrange 
the districts so that just as many as possible shall elect repre¬ 
sentatives of that party, and in doing this they sometimes 
make districts of a very odd shape. This practice is called 
Gerrymandering (hard g) from a certain Elbridge Gerry, 
who is said to have been prominent in such a scheme. 

To be a representative in Congress one must be at least 25 
years old, an inhabitant of the state in which he is chosen, 
and for seven years a citizen of the United States. 

The Senate. —The Senate is composed of two senators from 
each state, no matter how large or how small the state may 
be. This fact makes the Senate very imperfectly repre¬ 
sentative, since some of the states are much more populous 
than others. 2 What makes the Senate most unrepresentative 
is the fact that the senators are chosen not by the people, 
but by the legislatures of the states. Many efforts have been 
made to change this plan, and have the senators chosen by 

1 After each census Congress passes an apportionment law, declaring 
how many representatives each state shall have for the next ten years. 
Sometimes it happens that after this law is passed, a legislature does 
not meet again before the next election, so that there is no chance to 
redistrict the state. In such a case, if the number of representatives for 
a state is increased, all the voters in the state vote for as many repre¬ 
sentatives “at large” as have been added by the new law, besides voting 
for the district representatives. If the law diminishes the number of 
representatives for a state, all the representatives of that state have to 
be elected “at large” till the legislature redistricts the state. Owing to 
changes in the population of different sections of the states, legislatures 
usually redistrict their states after every census, even in states the 
number of whose representatives is unchanged. 

2 This is part of the “Connecticut Compromise” mentioned in the last 
chapter. 


162 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


the people, but this would require an amendment to the 
constitution of the United States. As we shall see when we 
come to study that matter, the Senate itself has something 
to do with amending the constitution, and a number of 
senators who fear that they would not be able to hold their 
positions if the people of their states had a voice in the mat¬ 
ter, have always been able to prevent the passage of any such 
amendment. In Montana and some other states an effort has 
been made to accomplish the same result by giving the voters 
an opportunity to express their choice for senator, and getting 
the members of the legislature to promise to vote for whatever 
person is shown to be the choice of the voters. 

Cumulative Voting.—Even the House of Representatives 
is not perfectly representative. For instance, it would seem 
fair, in a state where the two parties are almost even in 
numbers, if there were seven representatives, that four should 
be of one party and three of the other. It will be found, 
however, in many cases that six or seven may be of the same 
party, if the voters of the different parties happen to be 
pretty evenly distributed about the state. Several plans have 
been proposed to remedy this injustice. One is the plan of 
cumulative voting, such as is practiced in Illinois in choos¬ 
ing members of the legislature. This requires a division of 
the state into large districts, each of which chooses three 
representatives; each voter may then vote for three repre¬ 
sentatives, but he may cast one vote for each of three can¬ 
didates, or two for one and one for another, or one and a 
half votes for each of two, or three votes for one candi¬ 
date. Unless more than two-thirds of the voters belong to 
one party, this usually results in the election of two repre¬ 
sentatives of one party and one of the other. One objection 
to this plan is that it is difficult to apply it to any state 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


163 


where the number of representatives is not an exact multiple 
of three. 

Proportional Representation. —Another plan is known as 
proportional representation. Under this plan a state would 
not be divided into districts, but each party would nominate 
as many candidates as the whole number of representatives 
to which the state was entitled. If, for example a state was 
entitled to seven representatives, each voter would vote for 
seven candidates, and also indicate the party of his choice. 
Then each party would have such proportion of the repre¬ 
sentatives as the number of votes for that party bore to the 
whole number of votes in the state. Suppose 250,000 votes 
were cast, of which 100,000 were republican, 70,000 demo¬ 
cratic, 40,000 socialist, 50,000 prohibitionist, and 10,000 popu¬ 
list. Then the three highest republican candidates, the two 
highest democratic candidates, the highest socialist candi¬ 
date, and the highest prohibitionist candidate would be 
elected. 

Senatorial Terms. —The senators’ terms are for six years, 
and they are divided into three classes, so that the terms 
of one-third expire every second year, and the terms of the 
two senators from any one state do not expire at the same 
time. When a new state is added, the two senators are as¬ 
signed to classes in such a way as to keep all the classes 
as nearly even in numbers as possible, and then the two 
senators draw lots to determine which shall enter the class 
whose terms expire sooner and which the other. 

To be a senator one must be at least 30 years old, an 
inhabitant of the state in which he is chosen, and for nine 
years a citizen of the United States. When a vacancy occurs 
in the House of Representatives, a special election is held 
in the state or district concerned. When there is a vacancy 
in the Senate, the state legislature elects a senator to fill 


1(34 CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 

the vacancy, and if the legislature does not happen to be in 
session at the time, the governor of the state appoints a 
senator to serve till the next session of the legislature. 


APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 


Alabama . 10 

Arizona . 1 

Arkansas . 7 

California . 11 

Colorado . 4 

Connecticut . 5 

Delaware . 1 

Florida . 4 

Georgia . 12 

Idaho . 2 

Illinois . 27 

Indiana . 13 

Iowa . 11 

Kansas . 8 

Kentucky . 11 

Louisiana . 8 

Maine . 4 

Maryland . 6 

Massachusetts . 16 

Michigan . 13 

Minnesota . 10 

Mississippi . 8 

Missouri . 16 

Montana . 2 

Nebraska . 6 


Nevada . 1 

New Hampshire . 2 

New Jersey . 12 

New Mexico . 2 

New York . 43 

North Carolina . 10 

North Dakota . 3 

Ohio . 22 

Oklahoma . 8 

Oregon . 3 

Pennsylvania . 36 

Rhode Island . 3 

South Carolina . 7 

South Dakota . 3 

Tennessee . 10 

Texas . 18 

Utah . 2 

Vermont . 2 

Virginia . 10 

Washington . 5 

West Virginia . 6 

Wisconsin . 11 

Wyoming . 1 


Total . 436 




















































CHAPTER XIV. 


HOW THE CONGRESS WORKS. 

Organization of Congress. —The organization of the Con¬ 
gress is very much like the organization of the legislative 
assembly. The House of Representatives chooses one of its 
own members as speaker, and elects all other officers. The 
vice-president of the United States presides in the Senate, 
but in his absence the Senate chooses some senator as presi¬ 
dent pro tempore, and it also chooses all its other officers. 

Each house of the Congress decides any disputes about the 
elections and qualifications of its members, makes its own 
rules of procedure, has power to punish its members for dis¬ 
orderly conduct, and may expel a member by a two-thirds 
vote. In order to secure as much freedom as possible for 
senators and representatives in the discharge of their duties, 
they are privileged from arrest during the sessions of Con¬ 
gress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace; and 
they cannot be called to account outside of Congress for any 
speech made there . 1 

Committee System. —The committee system, of which we 
learned in connection with the legislative assembly, is also 
the system by which Congress works. The committees have 
really very much more power in Congress than in state legis¬ 
latures, for the number of bills introduced in Congress is so 
very large that only a small portion of them are ever re¬ 
ported back to the house at all. Naturally, the committees 

i That is, they cannot be subjected to any legal penalty. People may 
criticize them and vote against them at the next election because of 
speeches made in Congress. 


165 


166 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


report only such bills as they favor, though they may be re¬ 
quired by a vote of the house to report a particular bill. 

Law-Making. —The method of enacting laws in Congress 
is also very similar to that in the legislative assembly. To 
become a law a bill must be passed by both houses and re¬ 
ceive the approval of the president of the United States, 
unless the president keeps the bill for ten days without either 
approving it or vetoing it. If he vetoes a bill, it fails unless 
repassed by two-thirds of both houses, and all bills left in 
his hands unsigned when Congress adjourns, fail. 

Some other differences in procedure may also be noted. 
Bills which do not appropriate money or provide for raising 
money, may be passed without coming before the committee 
of the whole, and the passage of bills is often by viva voce 
vote, the yeas and nays being taken only when demanded by 
one-fifth of the members present. The membership of the 
House of Representatives is so large that a roll-call consumes 
a long time. Members who are opposed to a bill which seems 
likely to be passed, sometimes take advantage of this fact 
to demand a roll-call on every motion, especially towards the 
close of the session, for the purpose of delaying matters, 
in hope that the time for adjournment will come without 
the obnoxious bill having passed. This is one of the practices 
known as filibustering. 

The body of men composing the House of Representatives 
and the Senate for a period of two years from the 4th of 
March in an odd-numbered year, is known as a Congress, and 
is designated by a number. The Congress from March 4, 
1789, to March 4, 1791, was the 1st Congress; that from 
March 4, 1911, to March 4, 1913, the 62d, etc. 

Sessions of Congress. —The Congress holds one session 
every year, beginning on the first Monday of December, and 
the president of the United States may call a special session 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


167 


at any time. The regular session beginning in December of 
an odd-numbered year, usually lasts on well into the following 
summer, and is commonly called the long session. But the 
short session, beginning in December of an even year, cannot 
last beyond the 4th of the following March, because the 
terms of the representatives all expire at that time. The 
sessions of each Congress are also numbered. The session 
beginning December 3, 1906, was the second session of the 
59th Congress. 

The present plan about the meetings of Congress is an¬ 
other thing which makes the Congress unrepresentative. 
The representatives elected in November do not begin their 
terms until the following March, and unless there is a spe¬ 
cial session, they do not assemble till the next December,— 
more than a year after their election. By this time mat¬ 
ters may have so changed that these men have quite ceased to 
represent public opinion on many important issues. What 
makes things still worse is that the old Congress holds an¬ 
other session after the election, though it may, at that elec¬ 
tion, have been utterly repudiated by the voters. 1 

Records of Congress.—Like the legislative assembly, each 
house of the Congress keeps and publishes a journal of its 
proceedings, and there is also a bulky publication called the 
Congressional Record, which is printed every day while the 
Congress is in session, and at the end of the session the daily 
numbers are collected and bound in huge volumes. The 
Record contains not only an account of the business trans¬ 
acted, but full reports of the discussions and debates, includ¬ 
ing not only the speeches actually delivered, but many others 
which senators and representatives have prepared but which 
there has not been time for them to deliver. 

1 Could any change in the time for the meeting of Congress improve 
this? Is there any reason why Congress should meet in winter rather 
than In summer? 


168 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


The acts passed at each session of Congress are printed 
after Congress has adjourned, but the laws of the United 
States have never been completely codified. 

Congressional Salaries. —The senators and representatives 
receive regular salaries, fixed by law. At present the salary 
is $7,500 per year, with an allowance of $125 for stationery, 
and mileage at the rate of ten cents per mile for the dis¬ 
tance between the capital and the member’s home, paid at 
the beginning and end of each session of Congress. The 
salary of the speaker is $10,000 and the president pro 
tempore of the Senate receives the same salary when there 
is no vice-president. No person who holds any office under 
the United States can be a member of Congress, and no 
member of Congress can, during the term for which he is 
elected, be appointed to any government office which has been 
created or whose emoluments have been increased during his 
term. 

Power of the Speaker. —The large membership of the 
House of Representatives makes it very difficult for any 
member to secure the floor so as to offer a motion. This 
fact gives the speaker great power, since, when several per¬ 
sons rise at once to address the house, only the one whom 
the speaker recognizes can obtain the floor. As so many per¬ 
sons desire this recognition whenever an opportunity occurs, 
it is seldom possible for a member to secure recognition ex¬ 
cept as the result of a previous arrangement with the speaker. 
It is often very difficult, therefore, for any bill to which 
the speaker is opposed, even to get before the house. 

Another result of the large membership of the House of 
Representatives is that there is time for only a very small 
proportion of the bills introduced ever to be considered. Con¬ 
sequently the committee on rules prepares a program for 
each day, directing what bills shall be taken up, how much 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


169 


time shall be given to them, and when they shall be brought 
to a vote. For many years prior to 1910 the speaker was 
always chairman of the committee on rules. In that year the 
growing dissatisfaction with the plan of lodging so much 
power in the hands of the speaker reached a climax in the 
adoption, by the House of Representatives, of a rule providing 
that the speaker should no longer be a member of the commit¬ 
tee on rules. The next year the power of appointing all com¬ 
mittees, which had been exercised by the speaker ever since 
the organization of the federal government, was taken from 
him, 1 and thus his power is reduced to substantially the same 
as that of the vice-president. 

The large membership of the house also makes it necessary 
to limit debate very closely; otherwise it would be impossible 
to transact any business. The result is that a comparatively 
small number of the representatives ever take any actual part 
in debate. When a bill is under consideration, the time 
allotted for debate is divided between the friends and oppo¬ 
nents of the bill, and this time in turn is given to a very few 
of the leaders of each side. 

Freedom of the Senators.—In the Senate the situation is 
different, and there is no limit to the time that may be 
occupied. When a senator gets the floor, he may occupy 
it as long as he is physically able. Sometimes advantage is 
taken of this fact to “talk a bill to death” by preventing it 
from coming to a vote. 

i Committees in the House of Representatives are now chosen by vote 
of the whole house, the same plan which has prevailed in the Senate for 
a great many years. In actual practice the Democratic caucus selects 
the Democratic members and the Republican caucus the Republican mem¬ 
bers How many members there shall be is determined by the rules of 
the house. The party which has a majority of the members of the house 
always keeps a majority of each committee and the chairmanships of all 
the important committees. 


CHAPTER XV. 


FOREIGN AND INTERSTATE RELATIONS. 

We have already noticed that the matters which the federal 
government cares for are chiefly relations of this country with 
foreign countries, relations between different states, and the 
management of affairs which need to be uniform throughout 
the country. We may now give more particular attention 
to these matters. 

War Powers. —In the first place, Congress determines what 
the relations with other countries shall be,—whether peace¬ 
ful or otherwise. The power to declare war rests with Con¬ 
gress. 

Naturally Congress is also the body which provides for the 
carrying on of a war. For this purpose it provides for the 
raising and supporting of armies and a navy, and makes the 
rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces. It also provides for calling forth the militia, 
but only for the purpose of executing the laws of the Union, 
suppressing insurrections, and repelling invasions. Congress 
provides for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, 
and for governing such part of them as may be employed 
in the service of the United States. Each state, however, 
appoints the officers of its militia, and provides for training 
the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Con¬ 
gress. 

Congress has power to grant letters of marque and re- 
170 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


171 


prisal, 1 but these have almost passed out of use. Congress 
does, however, make rules concerning captures on land and 
water. The present rules are that captures on land become 
the property of the government; captures on the water are 
sold under authority of the United States District Court; 
the proceeds are divided among the victorious crew in pro¬ 
portion to the service pay of each, if the captured vessel is 
of equal rank with the captor; if its rank is inferior, one- 
half is paid to the government. 

Akin to these powers is the power of Congress to define 
and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offences against the law of nations. States bordering 
upon the seacoast have jurisdiction only to the low-water 
mark. The term “high seas” means the region beyond this. 
The expression “law of nations” is also a technical term; it 
means international law. 

Control of Commerce.—One of the most important rela¬ 
tions with foreign countries is that of a commercial char¬ 
acter. “In the regulation of foreign commerce, Congress 
has enacted measures for the protection of shipping, by the 
maintenance of light-houses, buoys, and life-saving stations.” 
Congress also prescribes regulations under which vessels en¬ 
gaged in foreign commerce enter and clear ports. Vessels 
‘registered in the United States are entitled to protection 
by the government of the United States wherever they go. 
Only vessels owned by citizens of the United States and built 
in this country are now admitted to register. Foreign ves¬ 
sels are not permitted to engage in the coasting trade. 

Immigration.—Immigration of foreigners to the United 
States is regulated by Congress. Present laws forbid the 
immigration of Chinese, and of convicts, anarchists, insane 

1 Commissions issued to private persons, usually captains of merchant 
vessels, authorizing them to capture the property of the enemy. This 
practice is known as privateering. 


172 


CIVICS FOB MONTANA STUDENTS. 


persons, paupers and those liable to become paupers, polyga¬ 
mists, persons having contagious diseases, and laborers under 
contract to perform labor in the United States; but per¬ 
sons engaged in the professions, and skilled laborers employed 
in the establishment of new industries are admitted. 

“Protection.”—In the exercise of its power Congress is 
forbidden by the constitution of the United States to give 
any preference to the ports of one state over those of an¬ 
other. Congress is also forbidden to lay any tax or duty 
on articles exported from any state. But Congress exer¬ 
cises a powerful influence on commerce by imposing duties 
on the importation of goods from abroad. This is done not 
only for the purpose of raising money, which we shall con¬ 
sider in another connection, but also for the purpose of dis¬ 
couraging the importation of foreign goods. 

The object of this is to lead people to purchase goods pro¬ 
duced in this country, and because it seeks thus to “protect” 
home industries, the policy is commonly known as “pro¬ 
tection.” In an earlier stage of the country’s development, 
this probably hastened to some extent the progress of indus¬ 
trial enterprise in this country. Now that it has ceased to be 
necessary, and also enormously increases the cost of living, 
those who profit most directly by the system have become 
so powerful that it is not only impossible to do away with 
the system, but it seems almost impossible to get even some 
of the most burdensome and unquestioned abuses of the system 
modified. 

Interstate Commerce.—The relations between the states 
are likewise very largely of a commercial character. Con¬ 
gress has power to regulate commerce between the states. 
Up to the present time Congress has done very little in the 
way of regulating interstate commerce on land. The coast 
trade and the traffic on navigable rivers are controlled by 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


173 


Congress, and large amounts of money have been appro¬ 
priated for the improvement of harbors and navigable rivers, 
to render them more useful for commerce. 

The greater part of the commerce between states is car¬ 
ried on by railroad. Such as is confined within the limits 
of a single state is subject only to the control of that state, 1 
but when a journey or a shipment of property begins in one 
state and passes into another, it comes under the control of 
Congress. Prior to 1887 Congress did not undertake to 
control railroad transportation. In that year the interstate 
commerce act was passed, which was designed to remedy some 
of the most flagrant abuses of railroad management, placing 
the enforcement of the law largely in the hands of a body of 
men to be known as the Interstate Commerce Commission. 
The powers of this commission proved to be so limited, how¬ 
ever, that little or nothing was ever accomplished aside from 
compelling, after almost interminable delays on every sort 
of pretext, the use of a few safety appliances in the opera¬ 
tion of the railroads. The 59th Congress passed a new act in¬ 
tended to strengthen the commission, and particularly to 
empower it to establish maximum rates. The new law, how¬ 
ever, still hedges the commission about with so many restric¬ 
tions as to make effective use of this power very difficult. 

Interstate Comity. —Some of the relations between states 
are defined by the Constitution, but Congress has power to 
carry these provisions into effect. For example, the Consti¬ 
tution provides that full faith and credit shall be given in 
each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings 
of every other state. But Congress prescribes the manner 
in which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved. 

The citizens of each state are entitled to all the privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several states. A person 


1 See page 65. 


174 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


charged with crime in one state, who flees from justice and 
is found in another state, must, on demand of the governor 
of the state from which he fled, be delivered up to be removed 
to the state having jurisdiction of the crime. This is called 
extradition . 1 

Prior to the abolition of slavery it was also the duty of 
the federal government to provide for the return of fugitive 
slaves to the states from which they had escaped. 

1 Treaties with most foreign nations also provide for extradition of 
criminals who flee abroad, and for the return of criminals who escape 
to this country. These treaties specify the crimes for which persons 
may be extradited, and the United States refuses to return “political 
prisoners”—that is, persons who are not guilty of any crime but are 
accused of conspiring to overthrow a despotic government. Many of our 
most valuable citizens have been these political refugees. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


THINGS THAT MUST BE ALIKE. 

Money.—Of the matters which are controlled by the federal 
government because of the necessity of their being uniform 
throughout the country, the following are the most impor¬ 
tant : 

Congress has power to coin money, regulate the value 
thereof and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights 
and measures. In pursuance of the last purpose Congress 
has established a national standardizing bureau, with a lab¬ 
oratory at which the standards used in all the applied sciences 
are kept. 

Gold Money.—Under the present laws gold is freely coined 
by the United States government. That is, all the gold that 
is offered at the mints is coined into double eagles, eagles or 
half eagles, at the rate of 23.22 grains of pure gold to the 
dollar. As pure gold would be too soft for coins, it is alloyed 
in the proportion of one part of copper to nine parts of gold. 
For the copper a small charge is made at the mint. The 
result of all this is plain. So long as anyone having gold 
bullion can take it to the mint and have it coined into money 
at the rate of one dollar for every 23.22 grains, the price 
of 23.22 grains of pure gold can never fall below one dollar. 

Silver Money.—Up to 1873 silver was likewise freely 
coined, the standard coin being the dollar of 371.25 grains of 
pure silver, and like the gold coins, nine-tenths fine. As 
371.25 grains is nearly sixteen times 23.22 grains, the two 

175 


176 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


metals were said to be coined at the ratio of 16 to 1. So 
long as this law was in effect the price of silver could, of 
course, never be less than one dollar for 371.25 grains. In 
1873, however, the law was repealed, and no silver was then 
coined till 1878, when a new law provided for a limited 
coinage of silver. This law has since been repealed, and no 
dollars are now coined except what may be necessary to re¬ 
deem certain certificates which will presently be described. 
For purposes of small change a limited amount of silver 
is coined into half-dollars, quarter-dollars and dimes. These 
coins are lighter than the corresponding fractions of a silver 
dollar, in order to make it unprofitable to melt them or ex¬ 
port them. A five-cent piece, weighing 77.16 grains, is 
coined of three-fourths copper and one-fourth nickel. A one- 
cent piece is coined which weighs 48 grains, and is composed 
of 95 per cent, copper and 5 per cent, tin and zinc. The gold 
coins and the dollar are legal tender 1 to an unlimited amount; 
the smaller silver coins to the amount of ten dollars, and the 
five and one-cent pieces to the amount of 25 cents. The gov¬ 
ernment has mints at Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Fran¬ 
cisco and Denver. 2 The mints at Carson City, Nevada, and 
Dahlonega, Georgia, have been abandoned. 

Paper Money.—Besides the metallic money, the govern¬ 
ment of the United States issues several sorts of paper money. 
Anyone may deposit silver dollars in the treasury of the 
United States and receive silver certificates in denominations 
of one, two, five, or ten dollars. As the silver dollars are 
kept in the treasury to redeem the certificates, the certifi- 

1 That is, by offering them in payment one may legally discharge a 
debt. A debt may be ptld with other things than legal tender if the 
creditor is willing to accept them. But if he refuses anything which is 
legal tender, the debtor is released from his obligations. 

8 Coins having a small “s” at the bottom on the reverse side were 
coined at the San Francisco mint, those with “o” at New Orleans, and 
those with “cc” at Carson City. Coins without a mint mark were struck 
at Philadelphia. 


FEDEBAL GOVEBNMENT. 


177 


cates circulate as money. Likewise gold coins may be de¬ 
posited in the treasury and gold certificates in denominations 
of not less than ten dollars received in exchange. 

“Greenbacks.”—During the civil war the government 
found it very difficult to raise sufficient revenue to meet its 
extraordinary expenses. Consequently large numbers of 
promissory notes payable to the bearer were issued and paid 
out in exchange for supplies. It was expected that when the 
war should cease and the expenses of the government be 
diminished, these notes would be paid in coin, and the greater 
part of them were so paid off; but it was found that the rapid 
paying off of these notes and the consequent reduction of 
the amount of money in circulation, had a very injurious 
effect on business by causing a fall of prices. It was also 
found that the notes answered every purpose of money, and 
consequently it was decided to leave nearly $347,000,000 of 
them in circulation. From the fact that, when these notes 
were first printed, the reverse side being green, they pre¬ 
sented a novel appearance, they became popularly known as 
greenbacks,—a name which is still applied to them, although 
there are now other sorts of money that have a similar ap¬ 
pearance. 

Treasury Notes.—When the law providing for the limited 
coinage of silver dollars was repealed, another law took its 
place, which directed the secretary of the treasury to buy four 
and one-half million ounces of silver bullion per month, at 
market prices, and pay for it with notes, which are known 
as treasury notes of 1890. This law was repealed three years 
later, but many of the notes are still in use. 

Bank Notes.—-Under the present laws banks are not per¬ 
mitted to issue circulating notes except after depositing, with 
the treasurer of the United States, bonds of the United States 
in amount equal to the amount of notes, or other securities 


178 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


approved by the secretary of the treasury, and keeping con¬ 
stantly on deposit in the United States treasury money 
equal to 5 per cent, of their notes, to redeem any that may be 
presented for payment. These precautions make the payment of 
bank-notes so nearly certain, that the notes pass readily as 
money throughout the country, though they are not legal tender. 

Postoffices.— One of the most important services per¬ 
formed by the federal government is the “establishment of 
postoffices and post-roads.” What has been done in this 
direction we shall see when we study the executive depart¬ 
ment of the government. 

Patents and Copyrights, —Under the clause of the Con¬ 
stitution which empowers Congress “to promote the progress 
of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to 
authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries,” the patent and copyright laws have 
been enacted. 

On payment of a very small fee and compliance with simple 
regulations, the author or designer of a book, map, picture 
or other work of art may have the sole right to make and 
sell copies of the work for 28 years; and a renewal may then 
be had for fourteen years more. 

An inventor, on payment of a fee of $35, may receive a 
patent granting him the sole right to make and sell his in¬ 
vention for seventeen years. If the inventor does not receive 
an adequate return in that time, a patent may be extended 
for seven years more. 

Naturalization. —Another thing which it is highly im¬ 
portant to have uniform throughout the United States is 
citizenship. The Constitution of the United States declares 
(Amendment XIV.) that “all persons born or naturalized 
in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


179 


they reside.” Congress prescribes the conditions under which 
foreigners may be naturalized. The present laws do not 
permit of the naturalization of Chinese, Japanese and Bur¬ 
mese. 1 But natives of other countries may be naturalized 
after living in this country five years, provided they have, at 
least two years before, filed a formal declaration of inten¬ 
tion to become citizens, and take an oath of allegiance to the 
United States, at the same time renouncing all allegiance 
to any foreign government. Some recent changes in the 
law, which require applicants to answer certain questions and 
sign their papers, make it impossible for persons to be nat¬ 
uralized who are not able to read, write, and speak the Eng¬ 
lish language to some extent. The naturalization of a man 
makes his wife and his children under 21 years of age citi¬ 
zens at the same time. 

Bankruptcy. —Congress also has power to pass uniform 
laws on the subject of bankruptcy. The present law permits 
a person who owes a debt to become a voluntary bankrupt, 
and one who owes a debt to the amount of $1,000 may be 
adjudged an involuntary bankrupt after an impartial trial. 
A bankrupt’s property is divided proportionally among his 
creditors, and he is released from further legal obligations 
to them. 

Further Uniformity. —There is very much more intercourse 
between different states now than there was when the Con¬ 
stitution was made. Consequently there are many things 
which it would be very desirable to have uniform through¬ 
out the country which were not material a hundred years 
ago. One of the most important of these is the law in regard 
to marriage and divorce, which is now very different in some 
states than in others. Proposals have been made to amend 
the Constitution of the United States so as to bring this 

i But their children, if born in the United States, may be citizens. 


180 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


matter within the power of Congress. This movement has 
not made much headway. The fact is that, so long as Con¬ 
gress continues to be so unrepresentative a body as it is, there 
is very little likelihood of success in any movement intended 
to increase the power of Congress. 

Regulation of Corporations.—Federal regulation of life 
insurance companies, and indeed of all corporations, is de¬ 
sired by many people, for the sake of uniformity. Another 
reason urged is the fact that, since Congress has the sole 
power to regulate interstate commerce, a corporation organ¬ 
ized in any state may extend its business into all other 
states, and the citizens of these states are helpless to protect 
themselves against many abuses of corporate power. 

Furthermore, strict regulation in some states may result 
in manufacturing enterprises centering in states whose regu¬ 
lations are looser. For instance, it is feared that such 
restriction of child labor as is desired in those states where 
public sentiment is most enlightened, might tend to drive 
all the cotton-mills into such states as permit child labor 
without restriction, and thus the real purpose of the laws 
be thwarted. For this reason many people urge upon Con¬ 
gress the restriction of child labor by national law. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


FEDERAL FINANCE. 

We come now to some other powers of Congress which 
do not seem to be within the limits of the division which we 
have noticed between the federal government and the states. 
While they may not be classified directly under the head of 
matters in regard to relations of states with each other and 
with foreign countries, nor matters which must be uniform 
throughout the country, yet indirectly they are within these 
limits, because the powers already named could not be ef¬ 
fectively exercised and an efficient government maintained 
without these powers which are now to be named. 

Taxation. —The first of these is the power of taxation. 
No government can be effective without this power. The 
experience of the United States under the Articles of Con¬ 
federation proved this. So when the Constitution was 
formed care was taken to provide for the exercise of the 
taxing power. 

Congress has the power to levy taxes of every sort, except 
duties on exports. In levying other taxes there are only two 
limitations: 1st, they must be uniform throughout the 
United States; 2d, direct taxes must be apportioned among 
the different states in proportion to their population. That 
is, if direct taxes are levied, they must be assessed in such 
a way that just twice as much money will be raised in a 
state having a population of two millions as in a state having 
a population of one million, for instance. This is so very 

181 


182 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


inconvenient that Congress has undertaken only two or three 
times to levy direct taxes, and the income of the government 
is now derived entirely from indirect taxes. These are of 
two general sorts, known as internal revenue and import 
duties, and about one-half of the revenue is derived from 
each source. For the year ended June 30, 1911, the principal 
items in the income of the federal government were: 


From duties on imports.$314,497,071 

Internal revenue . 322,529,201 

Postal service . 237,879,823 


The receipts from internal revenues were made up chiefly 
of taxes on the following items: 


Distilled liquors.$155,279,858 

Fermented liquors. 64,367,777 

Tobacco . 67,005,950 

Oleomargarine . 1,000,214 

Excise tax on corporations. 33,511,536 

Playing cards. 581,640 

Penalties . 597,416 


Duties. —Duties on imported goods are of two sorts: Spe¬ 
cific duties, which are levied on certain units of measurement, 
as 1.2c per lb. on tin plate; and ad valorem duties, which are 
some percentage of the value of the article. Sometimes both 
duties are levied on the same article, as for example, carpets 
are taxed 10c per sq. ft. and 40 per cent, ad valorem in 
addition. Duties are levied on an immense variety of prod¬ 
ucts, but the largest items are the following (year ended 
June 30,1911): 












FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


183 


Sugar and molasses.$53,039,304 

Manufactures of cotton. 38,077,844 

Tobacco and manufacturer of tobacco. 24,124,239 

Wool . 21,128,729 

Manufactures of Wool . 20,771,964 

Manufactures of flax and liemp. 21,942,092 

Silk manufactures and silk. 17,665,994 

Liquors . 17,605,387 

Manufactures of iron and steel. 11,761,628 


These items account for nearly three-fourths of the duties. 
Under the present laws about half the goods imported are 
dutiable, and about half are free of duty. In the year ended 
June 30, 1911, dutiable goods to the value of $750,253,646 
were imported, and goods free of duty which were valued at 
$776,972,459. 

The principal items imported free of duty were, in millions 
of dollars: 


Chemicals . 

.... 95 

Tin . 

. 38 

Rubber . 

.... 93 

Fibers (manila, etc.)... 

. 31 

Coffee . 

.... 90 

Cotton . 

. 25 

Silk . 

.... 75 

Furs . 

. 24 

Hides . 

.... 71 

Tea . 

. 18 

Fruits and nuts.... 

.... 42 




A peculiar provision of the Constitution is that all bills 
for raising revenue must originate in the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, but the Senate may propose or concur in amend¬ 
ments, as on other bills. 

Appropriations. —Congress likewise has entire control of 
expenditures. No money can be drawn from the treasury 
except by appropriations made by law. The total expendi¬ 
tures of the federal government for the year ended June 30, 





















184 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


1911 were over eight hundred million dollars. The following 
are the principal items, in millions of dollars: Postoffice, 
237; pensions 158; war department, 160; navy, 120; 
interest, 21. 

National Debt. —If the revenues are not sufficient, Congress 
has power “to borrow money on the credit of the United 
States/’ Towards the close of the civil war the public debt 
reached the enormous total of more than two and two-thirds 
billions. It was reduced by 1893 to less than $839,000,000. 
Nov. 1, 1911, it was $1,346,848,636.66. The credit of the 
United States government is now so good that the Treasury 
Department can borrow money at a very low rate of interest. 
Nearly three-fourths of the present debt bears only two per 
cent, interest, and the rest bears only three or four per cent. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 

National Capital. —In order to conduct its business the 
government must have some special center, and it is very 
desirable that the place occupied as the seat of government 
should be outside the jurisdiction of any particular state. 
Congress therefore has power “to exercise exclusive legisla¬ 
tion in all cases whatsoever over such district (not exceeding 
ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, 
and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of govern¬ 
ment of the United States, and to exercise like authority over 
all places purchased, by the consent of the legislature of the 
state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful buildings.” 

In 1800 the District of Columbia, a tract of land ten 
miles square, lying on both sides of the Potomac, ceded to 
the federal government by Maryland and Virginia, became 
the seat of government. The portion on the Virginia side 
of the river, about one-third of the whole, was afterwards 
receded to Virginia. The city of Washington was established 
as the capital, and Georgetown was its suburb. Now, however, 
Washington has been extended to include the whole district. 
Since the district is not a part of any state, all the laws 
of the district are made by Congress. Under its present 
rules, bills reported by the committee on the District of 
Columbia have precedence on the second and fourth Mondays 
of each month in the House of Representatives. The gov- 

185 


186 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


eminent of the district is administered by the commissioners, 
two of whom are appointed by the president of the United 
States for three years, and the other is an officer of the 
engineers of the army detailed by the president. Half the 
expenses are met from the national treasury, and half from 
taxation of the property owners of the district. 

National Domain. —After a government has been estab¬ 
lished it naturally comes into possession of considerable 
property which it holds in trust for the people of the country. 
To care for this property the government must have power to 
control it completely. Partly by cessions on the part of the 
original states of their western lands, and partly by treaties 
with foreign nations, the United States at different times 
came into possession of nearly all the land between the 
Alleghany mountains and the Pacific ocean, as well as 
Florida and Alaska, and later of the Hawaiian islands, Porto 
Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The Constitution em¬ 
powers Congress to “dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property 
belonging to the United States.” 

Territories. —Ho definite policy has been adopted with 
reference to the remote possessions , 1 but in those on the 
American continent, as well as in Hawaii and Porto Rico, 
the policy has been to commit the government very largely 
to the inhabitants. As soon as there was even a small settled 
population in any region, a territorial government has been 
established in accordance with an act of Congress known as 
an organic act, and which in effect constituted the charter 

*The government of the Philippine Islands is vested in (1) a governor, 
appointed by the president of the United States; (2) a council composed 
of the governor, the secretary, the attorney general, the treasurer, the 
auditor, the commissioner of education, the secretary of the interior of 
the Philippines, and five natives appointed by the president of the United 
States; (3) a house of delegates, thirty in number, elected for terms of 
two years by such inhabitants. 21 years of age or older, who have lived 
in the islands one year, and either own taxable property or can read and 
write Spanish or English. The Sulu Islands are not included in this 
scheme. Tutuila and Guam are still subject to naval authority. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


187 


of the territory. In most instances the organic act has pro¬ 
vided for a legislature of two houses, chosen by the voters of 
the territory and having powers carefully defined by the 
organic act,—a governor, a secretary, and several judges, 
appointed by the president of the United States and con¬ 
firmed by the Senate. Such local offices as the legislature 
might establish were filled chiefly by elections in the territory. 
The voters of the territory also elected a delegate to Congress, 
who had all the privileges of a member of the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives, except that he had no vote in Congress. 

With the exception of Kentucky, West Virginia, Texas, and 
California, all that portion of the United States west of the 
Alleghanies, as well as the peninsula of Florida, has at some 
time been under territorial governments, of which there have 
been more than a score. But with the admission of Arizona 
as a state, in 1912, the last of these territories became a thing 
of the past, and only the detached regions of Alaska, Hawaii, 
and Porto Rico now have territorial governments. These gov¬ 
ernments are substantially like those described in the pre¬ 
ceding paragraph, except that Alaska has no legislature, and 
in Porto Rico the members of the smaller branch of the legis¬ 
lature are appointed by the president of the United States. 
In some respects Congress treats Porto Rico as a foreign 
country, taxing all goods shipped between Porto Rico and 
other parts of the United States 15 per cent, of the duties 
which would be paid if the goods were imported from abroad. 

New States. —It has always been the policy of the United 
States to encourage the inhabitants of the territories to 
expect that their territories would be admitted to the union 
as states as soon as they were fairly well settled, and 
thirty states have already been formed in this way. It is 
sometimes supposed that a territory is entitled to admission 
as soon as its population is as large as the number which 
constitutes the ratio of representation in the House of 


188 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Representatives. But there is no rule about the matter, and 
many territories had a much larger population before they 
became states. The Constitution gives Congress complete 
control of the admission of new states, subject only to the 
provision that “no new state shall be formed or erected 
within the jurisdiction of any other state, nor shall any state 
be formed by the junction of two or more states or parts of 
states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states 
concerned, as well as of Congress.” Besides the thirty states 
formed from territories, Congress has admitted five others: 
Kentucky and West Virginia were both formed by dividing 
Virginia, and Maine by dividing Massachusetts; Vermont 
had maintained a government of its own independently for 
some time, though it was claimed by both New Hampshire 
and New York; Texas was annexed to the United States, 
having previously been a foreign nation. 

Public Lands.—In regard to the lands included in the 
public domain, it has always been the policy of our govern¬ 
ment to encourage settlement by offering public lands on 
very easy terms to those who would establish homes upon 
them. As preliminary to this the lands are surveyed accord¬ 
ing to a very simple system. Starting from some convenient 
parallel of latitude known as a “base line,” parallel lines 
are surveyed north and south of this line at intervals of six 
miles. Intersecting lines six miles apart are also run on 
the east and west sides of certain “principal meridians.” 
Thus the lands are divided into “townships” numbered north 
or south of the base line, and lying in “ranges” which are 
numbered east or west of the meridian. Thus, for example, 
most of the city of Butte lies in Township 3 north. Range 
7 west of the Montana meridian. Glendive is in Township 
16 north, Range 55 east. The townships are subdivided 
into thirty-six sections, each of which of course contains 
just one square mile. These sections are always numbered 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


189 


in a certain order shown in this diagram. Thus it is pos¬ 
sible exactly to locate any farm by a very simple description; 
the forty acres indicated by the dark square would be described 
as the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 
seventeen, of whatever township and range it might be. 


6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

18 

■ 

17 

16 

15 

14 

13 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

2 

SO 

29 

28 

27 

26 

25 

31 

S2 

33 

34 

35 

36 


Land Grants.—Besides the lands given to settlers, vast 
tracts of the public domain have been donated to railroad 
companies, in order that by the proceeds of the sales of the 
lands the companies might build lines of railroad, chiefly 
from the Mississippi river westward toward the Pacific coast. 

Reserves.— By far the greater part of the public domain 
has now passed into the hands of private owners. Recently 
more attention has been paid to preserving the forests, espe¬ 
cially about the head waters of the great rivers, and large 
forest reserves are permanently held by the government. The 
government seems likely also to retain such coal lands as still 
remain a part of the public domain. Some parts of the 
public domain have also been set aside as national parks, 
such as the Yellowstone Park in Wyoming on the borders of 
Montana and Idaho, and the Glacier Park in the northwestern 
part of Montana. 






































CHAPTER XIX. 


GENERAL POWERS AND RESTRICTIONS. 


The “Elastic Clause.” —Finally we must notice the gen¬ 
eral summary by which the Constitution declares that Con¬ 
gress shall have power “to make all laws which shall be 
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the fore¬ 
going powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitu¬ 
tion in the government of the United States or in any depart¬ 
ment or officer thereof.” This is often called the elastic 
clause of the Constitution, because it may be held not to 
confer any powers which Congress would not have without 
it, while on the other hand it may be “stretched” so as to 
give Congress a great deal of additional power. It is some¬ 
times said that the interpretation of this clause is the basis 
of the division of our people into political parties, according 
as they take this clause strictly or loosely. It would be 
more nearly correct to say that political parties (which are 
divided largely by economic causes) find it convenient to 
adopt either a strict or a loose construction of this clause 
according as their interests may seem to require . 1 

Prohibitions on Congress. —We must now notice a few 
things that are distinctly forbidden by the Constitution to 
the federal government. Besides the limitations already 

1 During the first century of the republic the democratic party rather 
tended to strict construction, and the various parties which opposed it 
(federalist, whig, republican), to loose construction. But there were 
numerous exceptions, and in general any party is inclined to a stricter 
construction when it is out of power than when it is in control of the 
government. Since the close of the civil war all parties have favored 
a looser construction than was advocated by any party a generation 
earlier. 


190 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


191 


noticed, Congress is forbidden to suspend the writ of habeas 
corpus unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the 
public safety may require it. The writ of habeas corpus is 
a legal proceeding by which a person who is deprived of 
his liberty may secure a hearing before a judge and compel 
those who detain him to show legal cause why he should not 
be set at liberty. 

Congress is forbidden to pass any ex post facto law or 
bill of attainder. An ex post facto law is a law which makes 
an act a crime which was not a crime under the law at the 
time the act was committed, or subjects an offender to a 
greater penalty than was prescribed by the law at the time 
when the offense was committed. A bill of attainder is a bill 
which imposes penalties on particular individuals. Criminal 
laws must be expressed in general terms, and it must be left 
to the courts to determine who the particular individuals are 
who are liable to punishment. 

No money can be drawn from the treasury except by appro¬ 
priations made by law; no title of nobility can be granted 
by the United States, and no person holding any office of 
profit or trust can, without the consent of Congress, accept 
any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind what¬ 
ever, from any king, prince or foreign state. No religious 
test can ever be required as a qualification for any office or 
public trust under the United States. 

The “Bill of Rights.”—When the Constitution of the 
United States was adopted, it was feared by many persons 
that the government might be oppressive. To guard against 
this, ten amendments were almost immediately adopted. 
They did not change anything in the original constitution, 
but provided additional safeguards. They forbid Congress 
to make any law respecting an establishment of religion or 
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging freedom of 


192 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


speech or of the press; or the right of the people to as¬ 
semble, peaceably, and to petition for a redress of grievances; 
or to infringe the right of the people to maintain a militia. 
They forbid the quartering of soldiers in time of peace 
in any house without the consent of the owner; or in 
time of war except in a manner prescribed by law. They seek 
to secure the people against unreasonable searches or seizures; 
they prohibit the trial of persons for infamous crimes with¬ 
out indictment by a grand jury; 1 they forbid the putting of 
any person in jeopardy of life or limb twice for the same 
offense, or compelling anyone to be a witness against himself, 
or depriving him of life, liberty or property without due 
process of law, or taking private property for public use 
without just compensation. They guarantee jury trial in 
criminal cases and in suits at common law where the value 
in controversy exceeds $20; they prohibit excessive bail, 
excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments. 

“Supreme Law of the Land.”—The constitution declares 
that the constitution and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land, anything in the constitution or laws of any 
state to the contrary notwithstanding. The significant part 
of this is the words in italics. If congress should make a 
law not in pursuance of the constitution of the United States, 
such a law would be utterly void. 

1 It should be noticed that these amendments apply only to the federal 
government. Some of the states have now abolished indictment by grand 
jury in their own courts. 


CHAPTER XX. 


THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

We have seen that, in the making of the laws, the govern¬ 
ment of the United States is very much like that of the 
state. In executing the laws there is also resemblance between 
the two, but perhaps the contrast is even more striking. In 
the words of the Constitution, “the executive power shall be 
vested in a president of the United States of America.” We 
saw that the executive department of the state is made up 
of a number of different persons, all elected independently 
of each other, so that there is no unity to the administration. 
All the executive power in the government of the United 
States, however, is vested in one man. While it takes more 
than 384,000 people (besides the army and navy) to do 
the work of the executive department, they are all appointed, 
directly or indirectly, by the president, and are responsible 
to him. 

The term of the president of the United States is for four 
years. It begins on the 4th of March in the years 1909, 
1913, etc. To be eligible to the office, one must be a natural 
born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years of age, 
and for 14 years a resident of the United States. In case 
of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability, the office devolves upon the vice- 
president for the remainder of the term for which he was 
chosen. 

Election of President— The manner of choosing the presi¬ 
dent and vice-president is rather complicated. It might seem 

193 


194 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


to us very reasonable for all voters of the United States to 
vote directly for candidates for president and vice-president, 
just as the voters in each state elect their governor; but 
the people who framed the Constitution of the United States 
did not have much confidence in the people, and they devised 
another method. 

This is the plan for electing the president and vice-presi¬ 
dent. Each state chooses as many presidential electors as 
the whole number of senators and representatives to which 
it is entitled in Congress. These electors are chosen in such 
manner as the legislature of each state may direct, only that 
the day for choosing the electors must be the same throughout 
the United States. 1 

At first, in most of the states, the legislatures themselves 
chose the electors, but now in all the states the choice of the 
electors is left to the voters of the state. Each voter votes 
for as many electors as the whole number to which his state 
is entitled. The persons having the largest number of votes 
become the electors of their state. These electors meet at the 
capitals of their respective states on the second Monday in 
January, and vote by ballot for president and vice-president, 
at least one of whom must not be a resident of the same 
state with themselves. The electors then make lists of all 
persons voted for as president and as vice-president, and 
the number of votes cast for each, and send these lists to 
Washington to the president of the Senate. On the second 
Wednesday of February the two houses of Congress meet in 
joint session, and in their presence the presiding officer of 
the Senate opens all the certificates, and the votes are 
counted. 

The person having the greatest number of votes for presi- 

1 Congress has designated the Tuesday next after the first Monday of 
November, just before the close of the presidential term. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


195 


dent is president if such number is a majority of the whole 
number of electors, but if no person has a majority, the 
House of Representatives immediately chooses a president 
from among the three who have received the most votes. In 
this case the House of Representatives votes by states, the 
representation from each state having one vote, and a ma¬ 
jority of all the states is necessary to a choice. 1 If the 
House of Representatives should not succeed in electing a 
president by the 4th of March, the vice-president would 
become president. 

Vice-President. —The person receiving the votes of a ma¬ 
jority of the electors for vice-president becomes vice-president, 
but if no one receives a majority, the Senate immediately 
chooses a vice-president from the two highest on the list. 
This has never happened but once. In 1837 no candidate 
received a majority, and the Senate elected R. M. Johnson 
vice-president. 

Popular Control. —It was originally expected that the 
presidential electors would exercise their own judgment in 
voting for president and vice-president, but in practice this 
is never done. The electors always vote for candidates who 
have previously been nominated by the parties to which they 
belong. Some months before the presidential election, each 
political party holds a national convention to nominate its 
candidates for president and vice-president, and to draw up 
a platform and select a central committee. The delegates 
to these conventions are chosen by the state conventions of 
the parties, as we learned in the study of the state govern¬ 
ment, and those same state conventions also nominate as . 
many candidates for presidential electors as the state is 
entitled to. It is understood that these persons, if they are 

1 This has never happened but once. In 1825 no candidate had a 
majority, and the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams as 
president. 


196 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


elected as electors, will vote for such persons as president 
and vice-president as may be nominated by the national 
convention of their party. The result is practically known 
as soon as the electors have been chosen in November, al¬ 
though, as we have seen, the president is not actually elected 
until the second Monday in January. So perfectly is it 
understood that the electors will do as agreed upon, that voters 
do not think of themselves as voting for the electors, but 
consider themselves as practically voting for president and 
vice-president. 

National Conventions.—There is one noticeable difference 
in regard to the number of delegates chosen by each state 
for the national convention, from the plan that we saw in 
the state in choosing delegates to the state convention. In¬ 
stead of basing the number of delegates from a state on the 
number of votes cast for the candidates of the party at the 
last election, every state sends just twice as many delegates 
as the number of presidential electors to which it is entitled. 
The territories and the District of Columbia also are usually 
allowed to send two delegates each. 1 

Salary.—The president receives a salary, fixed by Con¬ 
gress, but the amount can neither be increased nor diminished 
during the period for which he was elected. Under the 
present law, the president receives an annual salary of 
$75,000 and occupies a residence provided by the govern¬ 
ment. The salary of the vice-president is $10,000 per year. 

Power of the President.—The power of the president of 
the United States is very extensive. He is commander in 
chief of the army and navy, and also of the militia when it 
is called into the service of the United States. As already 

1 There are also some differences in the practices of the different 
political parties. In the Democratic National Convention no one can be 
nominated until he receives the votes of two-thirds of the delegates, 
while in the Republican convention a bare majority is sufficient. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


197 


intimated, he appoints all the officers of the United States, 
directly or indirectly. The more important ones are ap¬ 
pointed subject to the confirmation of the Senate. 1 The less 
important are appointed by the president alone or by the 
heads of the executive departments. 

While it is the general plan to keep the legislative, execu¬ 
tive and judicial branches of the government quite distinct, 
they do overlap at some points. We have already seen what 
part the president has in the legislative department, through 
his veto power. He also has the power, on extraordinary 
occasions, to convene Congress in special session, and in case 
of disagreement between the two houses with respect to the 
time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time 
as he shall think proper. It is his custom, also, in the 
words of the Constitution, to “give to the Congress informa¬ 
tion of the state of the Union, and recommend to their 
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient.” His annual message at the opening of each ses¬ 
sion of Congress is always awaited with great interest as a 
summary of political conditions, but he also sends the Con¬ 
gress special messages from time to time. 

The president also has important judicial powers, since 
he may grant pardons and reprieves for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

Importance of the Presidential Office.—A bare recital of 
these facts is hardly enough to impress one with the very 
great power of the president of the United States. While 
his term is short, yet as long as it lasts he is far more power¬ 
ful than any European monarch except the German and Rus¬ 
sian emperors. His power to appoint and remove officials 
is one of the most important of his prerogatives, since, as a 
result of this, he has, scattered all over the country, reaching 

1 When the Senate is not in session, the president may make such ap¬ 
pointments, but unless subsequently confirmed, they expire at the close 
of the next session of the Senate. 


198 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


into every little village and country cross-roads, thousands 
of people whose positions more or less directly depend upon 
him. Naturally most of these people and their friends are 
likely to be strong supporters of the president. 

Of far more importance than this is the strong hold which 
the president’s appointive power gives him upon members 
of Congress. Whether we like it or not, it is a fact that a 
great many senators and representatives care far more to have 
their friends appointed to offices than they do about great 
national policies. By making or withholding certain ap¬ 
pointments, therefore, the president can often influence the 
votes of enough senators and representatives to control the 
passage of measures which he desires adopted. When we 
remember that his veto is usually fatal to any measure to 
which he is opposed, we can see that his influence in legisla¬ 
tion is very great. 

In addition to his general appointing power, special notice 
should also be given to the president’s power to appoint 
judges. As we shall notice in the last chapter, the success 
or failure of any public policy depends to a considerable extent 
on the sympathetic or hostile attitude taken by the courts 
in the interpretation of the laws. While the president can¬ 
not remove judges, yet the number whose positions naturally 
become vacant during a presidential term is enough to give 
the president great power in determining the general ten¬ 
dency of the federal courts. 

Beyond all these things, what gives the president great 
power is the fact that he, pre-eminently, is the representa¬ 
tive of the people. We have seen that Congress is very 
imperfectly representative, but even if plans were adopted 
for popular election of senators, for example, any particular 
senator would represent no more than a single state, and 
both senators and representatives being usually chosen with 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


199 


a view to local interests, they would not be truly representa¬ 
tive of the people at large. The president is the only person 
who makes any approach to being a representative of the 
whole nation. And even with the present cumbersome method 
of electing the president, it must be admitted that, as a 
rule, he is fairly representative of the trend of public 
sentiment. 

The Vice-Presidency. —In contrast with the great power 
and prestige of the presidency is the remarkable insignifi¬ 
cance of the vice-presidency. If an emergency brings the 
vice-president to the presidency, he of course succeeds to all 
its power. Otherwise he passes his term in comparative 
obscurity and is rarely heard of in public life afterwards. 
This often leads, unfortunately, to the choice of inferior men 
for vice-president, since men who are conspicuously suitable 
for the presidency are usually reluctant to accept the office 
of vice-president. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS. 

Most of the executive officers are distributed among a 
number of departments, at the head of each of which is a 
cabinet officer. The following compose the cabinet: 

Secretary of State. 

Secretary of the Treasury. 

Secretary of War. 

Secretary of the Xavy. 

Secretary of the Interior. 

Attorney-General. 

Postmaster-General. 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

Secretary of Commerce and Labor. 

The State Department. —The department of state really 
combines two departments: That which would naturally be 
suggested by the term secretary of state, and the department 
of foreign affairs. The first resembles the office of secretary 
of state as we saw it in our state government; that is, the 
secretary of state preserves certain public records, and attests 
the official acts of the president, but the greater part of his 
duty is as head of the department of foreign affairs. In 
dealing with foreign nations all communications are made 
through the department of state, acting through persons who 
are sent to foreign countries for that purpose. The United 
States, in accordance with the usual custom of nations, keeps 
a representative at the capital of every foreign nation. Ac- 

200 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


201 


cording to the supposed importance of the nation, these repre¬ 
sentatives are known as, 1st, ambassadors; 2d, envoys 
extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary; 3d, ministers 
resident; 4th, charges d’affaires. They are all, of course, 
appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate. 
When treaties are made, they are arranged through these 
ministers, who communicate in the different countries with 
the person who holds the same position as the secretary of 
state here. Likewise the foreign countries all keep at Wash¬ 
ington their representatives, who are ranked as ambassadors, 
etc., and when those countries have communications to make 
to our country, they manage it through their ministers, who 
communicate with our secretary of state. 

When a treaty has been arranged by the president of the 
United States, acting through the ministers, it must be sub¬ 
mitted to the Senate for approval. The Senate considers 
treaties in secret session, and a two-thirds vote is necessary 
for ratification. 

Besides the ministers, United States consuls are stationed 
in more than three hundred cities in foreign countries. These 
consuls have a great variety of duties, chiefly in advancing 
the interests of American commerce and looking after the 
welfare of American citizens who may be temporarily abroad. 
Foreign consuls also are located in most of the important 
cities of the United States, to look after the interests of their 
citizens in this country. 1 

The Treasury Department. —The treasury department, as 
the name implies, supervises all the financial affairs of the 
federal government. It is not only charged with the col¬ 
lection and disbursement of all the revenues of the govern¬ 
ment, but with the management of the mints, the bureau of 
printing and engraving, and the life-saving service. 

1 Italy and Greece have each a consul in Butte. 


202 


CIVICS FOE MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Besides the treasury at Washington, there are sub-treas¬ 
uries of the United States at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, and 
San Francisco. The government does not, however, keep all 
its money in these places, as about two hundred national 
banks, in different parts of the country, are also national 
depositories. 

The War Department. —The war department has charge 
of military affairs, including all the purchases and distribu¬ 
tion of supplies for the army, and its transportation. This 
department also supervises the military academy at West 
Point, and all the national cemeteries. All improvements 
of rivers and harbors also are carried on under the direction 
of the secretary of war. The most important work now in 
his charge is the construction of the Panama canal and the 
government of the canal strip, which is managed through the 
Panama Canal Commission. 

The Navy Department. —The navy department attends to 
the building and equipping of naval vessels and the manage¬ 
ment of the navy. It also has charge of the naval observatory 
at Washington, and the naval academy at Annapolis. 

The Interior Department. —The interior department com¬ 
prises a number of bureaus not readily assignable to other 
departments. They are (1) the General Land Office, which 
has charge of all the government lands; (2) the Pension 
Bureau, which attends to the examination of all claims for 
pensions; (3) the Patent Office, which has charge of the 
granting of patents; (4) the Commissioner of Indian Af¬ 
fairs, who has charge of the Indian reservations and Indian 
schools; (5) the Bureau of Education, which collects facts 
and statistics in regard to education, and publishes reports; 
(6) the Commissioner of Bailroads, who sees to the enforce¬ 
ment of the laws in regard to the management of those rail- 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


203 


roads whose construction has been aided by the federal 
government. 


The Postoffice Department. —The Postoffice Department 
employs the largest number of people of any of the depart¬ 
ments. The postmaster-general and four assistant post- 
masters-general are appointed by the president, with the con¬ 
sent of the Senate, as are also nearly 8,000 postmasters, whose 
salaries are $1,000 a year or more. The first assistant post¬ 
master-general has the management of the postoffices, with 
their clerks and carriers, the dead letter office, and the money- 
order service. The second assistant postmaster-general looks 
after the transportation of the mails. 1 The third assistant 
furnishes stamps and has charge of the finances and of the 
registry department. The fourth assistant postmaster-general 
looks after the appointment of more than 50,000 postmasters 
(those whose pay is less than $1,000 per year), directs the 
inspectors, and has charge of the rural free delivery. 

The Universal Postal Union, of which the United States is 
a member, includes more than fifty nations, who agree on 
uniform rates of postage and co-operate with one another 
to facilitate the carrying of the mails. The uniform rate of 
postage on a letter sent from one country to another in the 
postal union is five cents for one ounce and three cents for 
each additional ounce, and on newspapers one cent for each 
two ounces. By special arrangement, the domestic rate 2 of 
two cents per ounce applies to letters sent to Canada, Mexico, 
Cuba, Panama, Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, the city 


1 Most of the transportation of domestic mails is by railroad, a less 
amount by steamboat and stage lines. In most other civilized countries 
it is possible for the postoffice to utilize the latest electric inventions, 
the telegraph being almost universally included in the postoffice depart¬ 
ment. But the powerful grip which great corporations have on the 
congress of the United States is a very formidable obstacle in the way 
of all improvements of our postal service. 

2 Within the United States the rates of postage are two cents per ounce 
for letters, one cent each for postal cards, one cent for each four ounces 
for periodicals, one cent for each two ounces for other printed matter, 
and one cent per ounce for other merchandise. 


204 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


of Shanghai in China, and to United States Naval Vessels in 
whatever part of the world they may happen to be. 

Another service performed by the postoffice department, 
which has come to be of great importance in many countries, 
but has only recently been undertaken in the United States, 
is the safe keeping of small deposits of money in Postal 
Savings Banks. 

The savings are deposited by the postoffice department in 
banks, but the government guarantees repayment to the de¬ 
positors even if the banks should fail. 

The Agricultural Department. —The agricultural depart¬ 
ment is one of the more recently established departments. 
Its bureau of animal industry has for its principal object 
the suppression of dangerous communicable diseases in live 
stock. It also inspects dairy products for export. The bureau 
of plant industry is engaged chiefly in experimental inves¬ 
tigations in gardens and farms. The bureau of forestry car¬ 
ries on investigations as to the methods of forest manage¬ 
ment, and makes plans for the management of the national 
forest reserves. The bureau of chemistry investigates the 
chemical composition of fertilizers, agricultural products, 
foods and drugs. The bureau of soils investigates the proper¬ 
ties of soils and their relations to crop production. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor. —The depart¬ 
ment of commerce and labor is the latest of the departments 
to be established. This department includes the bureaus of 
corporations, of manufactures, of labor, of the census, of 
statistics, of navigation, of fisheries, of immigration, of 
standards, and the steamboat inspection service, the light¬ 
house establishment, and the coast and geodetic survey. 

The Department of Justice. —The department of justice 
is under the direction of the attorney-general, who is the 
legal adviser of the president and of the heads of the depart¬ 
ments. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


205 


Independent Departments. —There are also several execu¬ 
tive agencies which are not attached to any department. The 
Interstate Commerce Commission has already been men¬ 
tioned. The Civil Service Commiiiion arranges competitive 
examinations for persons seeking employment in the execu¬ 
tive departments. The Government Printing Office, in charge 
of the Public Printer, is the largest printing and binding 
establishment in the world. It does all the printing and 
binding for all branches of the government, except what is 
done by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the Treas¬ 
ury Department. The Librarian of Congress not only has 
charge of the great congressional library in Washington, but 
also of the copyright office. Every person securing a copy¬ 
right must deposit a copy of his work in the congressional 
library. The Smithsonian Institution carries on a variety 
of scientific investigations, and maintains a great museum 
of natural history, ethnology, geology, and paleontology. 
The International Bureau of American Bepublics was estab¬ 
lished to develop closer relations between the republics of 
North and South America. There is also a National Home 
for Disabled Volunteers, which maintains ten institutions for 
the care of such soldiers in different parts of the country. 

The Cabinet. —The heads of the nine executive depart¬ 
ments form the president’s cabinet, who advise him and keep 
him informed on the subject of their respective departments. 
They are also the successors to the office of the president in 
case of the death, resignation, removal, or disability of both 
the president and vice-president in the following order: 
Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of 
War, Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the 
Navy, Secretary of the Interior. 1 

1 The other cabinet offices have been established since the enactment of 
this law, and their occupants would not, under the present law, succeed 
to the presidency. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

THE JUDICIARY 

The Constitution itself establishes the Supreme Court, but 
empowers Congress “to constitute tribunals inferior to the 
Supreme Court.” 

The District Courts. —The federal courts are of three 
grades. 1 The lowest is the United States District Court. For 
this purpose each state constitutes one, two, three, or four 
districts. At present there are seventy-eight districts. As a 
rule, each district has one judge, though on account of the 
amount of business, a few districts have more. The judge 
holds court in at least one city in his district. 2 In case of 
necessity, a circuit judge or a judge of another district may 
be called upon to hold the District Court. 

The Circuit Courts. —Next above the District Courts are 
the Circuit Courts of Appeals. The whole United States is 
divided into nine parts called circuits. 3 

Each circuit has from two to four circuit judges, 4 according 
to the amount of business, twenty-nine circuit judges 5 in all. 
Each justice of the Supreme Court (to be described presently) 
is also assigned to some particular circuit. A session of the 
court is held by three judges. If a justice of the Supreme 
Court is present, he presides,—otherwise the oldest circuit 
judge in point of service. Any district judge in the circuit 
may be called upon to serve in the place of an absent circuit 
judge. 

1 There were formerly four grades, but the Circuit Courts were abol¬ 
ished by an Act of Congress approved Mar. 3, 1911. 

2 In Montana the United States District Court holds sessions at Butte, 
Helena, Great Falls, Billings, and Missoula. 

8 The 9th circuit includes the districts of California, Montana, Wash¬ 
ington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska, Arizona, and Hawaii. 

4 The 9th circuit has three judges. 

“Besides the five judges assigned to the Court of Commerce. See 
page 210. 


206 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


207 


The Supreme Court. —The highest court of all is the 
Supreme Court of the United States, which holds annual 
sessions at Washington, beginning in October and usually 
lasting till the following May. It consists of nine judges,— 
the chief justice and eight associate justices,—and all nine 
together hear cases, the decision of a majority being 
conclusive. 






The Judges. —All the federal judges are appointed by the 
president with the consent of the Senate, and serve for life; 
but any federal judge 70 years old may retire on full pay 1 
for life, as soon as he has served ten years. 

Court Officers.. —The president, with the consent of the 
Senate, also appoints a district attorney and a marshal for 
each district. The district attorney prosecutes persons accused 
of violating federal laws, and represents the United States in 
all cases in which it is a party in his district. The marshal 
executes the orders of the District Court and of the Circuit 
Court of Appeals. Each District Court and each Circuit Court 
of Appeals also appoints its own clerk. 

The Supreme Court of the United States also appoints its 
clerk, its marshal, and its reporter. All cases before the 
Supreme Court in which the United States is a party are rep¬ 
resented by the Attorney-General of the United States, who 
also supervises the work of all the United States district attor¬ 
neys and marshals. 

Each District Court appoints a number of Commissioners, 2 
who issue warrants of arrest on criminal proceedings, take 
bail, inquire whether there is probable cause to hold the accused 
to answer to the charge in court, and take proof on application 
for patents for land, in land contests, etc. 


1 The salaries of federal judges are: Supreme Court, chief justice, 
$15,000, associate justices each $14,500; Circuit Courts of Appeals and 
Court of Customs Appeals, each $7,000; Court of Claims, chief justice, 
$6,500, associate justices each $6,000; District Courts, $6,000. 
a In Montana there are about one hundred United States Commis¬ 
sioners. 



208 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


Jurisdiction of Federal Courts.— The jurisdiction of the 
federal courts is of two classes: One which depends (1) on 
the nature of the questions involved, and (2) on the parties 
to the suit. (1) The federal courts have jurisdiction over all 
cases arising out of the Constitution, laws, and treaties of 
the United States, and admiralty and maritime cases. (2) 
The federal courts have jurisdiction over all cases affecting 
ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls, suits 
between states, between a state and a citizen of another state, 
between citizens of different states, and between citizens of the 
same state claiming lands under grants from different states. 
It is provided, however, by the eleventh amendment to the 
Constitution, that the jurisdiction of the federal courts shall 
not extend to a suit against a state by citizens of another state 
or country. 

District Courts. —Within the limits mentioned, the District 
Courts have jurisdiction over admiralty suits, bankruptcy pro¬ 
ceedings, revenue cases, immigration of aliens, the contract 
labor laws, unlawful enclosure of public lands, protection of 
commerce against restraints and monopolies, slave trade, cases 
arising under the national banking laws, the postal laws, the 
patent, copyright and trade-mark laws, commerce laws except 
the exclusive jurisdiction of the Commerce Court, 1 the enforce¬ 
ment of equal rights among citizens, offenses against the laws 
of the United States, and in all civil cases where the amount 
in controversy exceeds $3,000 and the parties are not both 
citizens of the same state. 

Courts of Appeals. —The Circuit Courts of Appeals have 
no original jurisdiction. They constitute, each for its own 
circuit, the final court of appeals for most cases appealed from 
the District Courts. 

Supreme Court.— The Supreme Court of the United States 
has original jurisdiction in all cases affecting public minis- 

1 See page 210. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


209 


ters and consuls, and exclusive jurisdiction in all cases in 
which a state is a party. The Supreme Court has appellate 
jurisdiction over cases appealed from the District Courts 
involving the limits of their jurisdiction, in prize causes, and 
in all cases in which the constitutionality of any law of the 
United States, or the validity or construction of any treaty 
made under its authority is drawn in question, and in all cases 
in which the constitution or law of a state is claimed to be in 
contravention of the Constitution of the United States. The 
Supreme Court can review cases decided by the Courts of 
Appeals. Certain important cases may be appealed to the 
Supreme Court of the United States from the Court of 
Claims, from the Commerce Court, and also from the supreme 
courts of the territories, the District of Columbia, and the 
Philippines. 

Appeals may be taken to the Supreme Court of the United 
States from the decisions of the supreme court of any state 
on the ground that the constitution or law of that state is 
contrary to the Constitution of the United States, or that 
the decision violates rights of the party guaranteed by the 
Constitution or laws of the United States. 

The Court of Claims. —Outside this regular system of 
courts. Congress has established a Court of Claims, consist¬ 
ing of a chief justice and four associate justices, which meets 
at Washington, and hears the cases of all persons who have 
claims against the government of the United States which 
have been rejected by the executive departments, or for the 
payment of which no appropriation has been made. This is 
not a court in the sense of a body clothed with power to 
enforce its decrees. It merely certifies to Congress the deci¬ 
sions which it has reached. As a matter of fact, however. 
Congress regularly appropriates money to pay such claims as 
the Court of Claims decides to be just. 

Court of Customs Appeals. —The Court of Customs Ap- 


210 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


peals, established by Congress in 1909, consists of a presiding 
judge and four associate judges, 1 and is the court of final 
appeal from all decisions of appraisers in connection with the 
collecting of duties on goods imported into the United States. 

Commerce Court. —The Commerce Court was created by 
Congress in 1910, and consists of five circuit judges, 2 desig¬ 
nated by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, to serve in 
this court for five years. This court has charge of all cases 
concerned with the enforcement of the laws of the United 
States regulating interstate and foreign commerce, and cases 
brought to set aside or suspend orders of the Interstate Com¬ 
merce Commission. 3 Under certain restrictions, cases may 
be appealed from the Commerce Court to the Supreme Court. 

The Court of Impeachment. —There is also a special court 
for the trial of impeachment cases. This is the United States 
Senate. The president, vice-president, and all civil officers 
of the United States, are liable to removal from office on 
impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other 
high crimes and misdemeanors. The House of Representa¬ 
tives has the sole power to impeach. This is equivalent to 
indictment in ordinary criminal cases. When an officer is 
impeached, he is then brought before the Senate for trial, 
and a vote of two-thirds of the senators is necessary to secure 
conviction. When the president of the United States is 
impeached, the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides 
over the Senate. When an officer is convicted in an impeach¬ 
ment trial the Senate cannot inflict any further penalty than 
removal from office and disqualification to hold any office in 
the future, but if the act for which the officer is impeached 
is a crime under the laws, the officer can also be punished in 
the regular courts the same as any other citizen. 

1 This court appoints its own marshal, clerks, and reporter. 

2 The judge senior in designation presides. This court appoints its 
own clerk and marshal. 

8 See page 173. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION. 

Proposing Amendments. —There are two ways in which 
amendments to the Constitution of the United States may be 
proposed. The first is by a two-thirds vote of both houses 
of Congress. All the amendments that have been made have 
been proposed in this way, but, whenever the legislatures of 
two-thirds of the states apply, it is the duty of Congress to 
call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments. 
If this should ever be done, Congress would determine just 
how many delegates each state should have in the constitu¬ 
tional convention, and would probably prescribe how the 
delegates should be chosen. Congress would also, of course, 
declare when and where the convention should meet, and 
make appropriations for the expenses of the convention. 
Since it has never been possible to get two-thirds of the 
senators to agree to an amendment providing for popular 
election of senators, a movement has recently been started 
looking to the securing of a request from two-thirds of the 
states for the calling of such a convention. 

Ratifying Amendments. —Whichever way an amendment is 
proposed, there are two possible ways of ratifying it; one 
is by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states; the other 
is by conventions, held for that express purpose, in three- 
fourths of the states. Congress determines which method 
shall be taken, and all the amendments that have been pro¬ 
posed heretofore have been referred to the legislatures of the 

211 



212 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


states, but only fifteen have been ratified by the requisite 
number of states. 

The Fifteen Amendments. —The first ten amendments con¬ 
stitute the so-called bill of rights, and became part of the 
constitution in 1791. The eleventh is the one mentioned 
under the judiciary, and was adopted in 1798. The twelfth 
is the one which changed the procedure of the presidential 
electors. 1 The thirteenth abolished slavery, in 1865. The 
fourteenth, adopted in 1868, settled various controversies 
growing out of the civil war. The fifteenth forbade the 
United States or any state to deny the right of voting to any 
citizens on account of race, color, or previous condition of 
servitude. It was ratified in 1870. 2 

Difficulty of Amendment. —It will appear from this sum¬ 
mary that the Constitution is very hard to amend. The first 
ten amendments did not make any change in the Constitution 
and may be looked upon almost as a part of the original 
document. The last three amendments were the result of the 
civil war. So in more than a hundred j^ears only two changes 
have been peaceably made,—the eleventh and twelfth amend¬ 
ments. Even the twelfth was only for the purpose of curing 
a defect which was very evident, and it encountered no 
opposition. 

Growth of Democracy. —But while so little formal change 
has been made, and there is prospect of so little further 

1 Formerly the presidential electors did not vote for president and vice- 
president, but voted for two persons, and the one receiving the largest 
number of votes became president and the one receiving the next largest 
number became vice-president. In 1801 Thomas Jefferson and Aaron 
Burr each received the same number of votes. The House of Representa¬ 
tives, which had to choose between them, selected Jefferson as president, 
and consequently Burr became vice-president. To prevent the recurrence 
of such a complication, the twelfth amendment was adopted in 1804. 

a The following amendment was proposed by the 61st Congress, and has 
been ratifidft by the legislatures of thirty states, seven states having 
voted against it. If six more states vote favorably, it will become a 
part of the Constitution : 

“Article XVI. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes 
on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among 
the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.” 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


213 


amendment in the near future, it should not be supposed 
that great changes have not taken place in our form of 
government. The most notable changes have been in the 
direction of democracy; that is, in the increased power 
of the people in the government. That this has been 
brought about without amendment of the Constitution 
is largely due to the fact that the qualifications of 
voters are determined by each state for itself. Now 
all the states allow practically all male citizens 1 who have 
reached the age of twenty-one years to vote. A hundred 
years ago not much more than one-fourth of the whole num¬ 
ber of such persons could vote. The rest were excluded chiefly 
by the restriction of voting to property-holders. Another 
thing which has increased the power of the people is the 
growth of the party convention system. The result is that 
the president is practically chosen by the people, while it 
was not the intention of the framers of the Constitution that 
the mass of the people should have anything to do with this 
matter. 

Increased Strength of the Federal Government. —In the 

second place the relative power of the national government 
has greatly increased and the powers of the state govern¬ 
ments correspondingly declined. This has come about largely 
through judicial interpretation. That is, judicial interpre¬ 
tation has made it possible for this change to come about 
without any change in the wording of the Constitution. The 
real cause of all these changes is the changing of public senti¬ 
ment, partly through the great growth of the country and 
the steady extension of the frontier. 

Judicial Interpretation.— We sometimes think because our 
Constitution is a written one that it is a great deal more 
fixed and definite than the constitutions of those countries 

i Several states also allow female citizens to vote. 



214 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


which do not have written constitutions. But when we try 
the experiment we find that it is not easy even to put things 
in writing so that there is not some room for difference of 
opinion as to just what is meant. This makes it of great 
importance that the judges, who are the people to decide 
what laws mean, should be in sympathy with the public 
welfare rather than attached to the interests of certain 
classes. In making the federal judges appointive and assign¬ 
ing them a life-tenure, the framers of the Constitution 
guarded effectively against what they considered the danger 
of judges being affected by “popular clamor.” Unfortunately 
these arrangements do not perfectly guarantee that judges 
shall always be independent of narrow and selfish class in¬ 
terests. For safeguards here we must look in another 
direction. 

Increased Power of the President. —This brings us to the 
third of the great changes, and this has already been men¬ 
tioned in a previous chapter—the greatly increased power of 
the president of the United States. 

The People the Real Power. —In looking to the future, 
therefore, we need not be discouraged at the prospect of 
improvement in our government. For if the Constitution 
itself is difficult to change, yet after all, forms of government 
are only what might be called the outer shell. The real deter¬ 
mining force in any government is found in the character of 
the people. The government will be very nearly what they 
want to make it. 


CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 


Preamble. —We, the people of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran¬ 
quillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general wel¬ 
fare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our pos¬ 
terity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United 
States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
congress of the United States, which shall consist of a senate and 
house of representatives. 

2. First. The house of representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year, by the people of the several 
states; and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state 
legislature. 

Second. No person shall be a representative who shall not have 
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a 
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an 
inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen. 

Third. [Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several states which may be included within this union, 
according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound 
to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other persons.] 1 The actual enumeration shall be 
made within three years after the first meeting of the congress of 
the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, 
in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of repre¬ 
sentatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000, but each state shall 
have at least one representative; and until such enumeration shall 

1 Modified by Amendment XIV, Sec. 2. 

215 


216 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 
three; Massachusetts, eight; Rhode Island and Providence Planta¬ 
tions, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six; New Jersey, four; 
Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; 
North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five, and Georgia, three. 

Fourth. When vacancies happen in the representation from any 
state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to 
fill such vacancies. 

Fifth. The house of representatives shall choose their speaker 
and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

3. First. The senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for 
six years; and each senator shall have one vote. 

Second. Immediately after they shall be assembled in conse¬ 
quence of the first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may 
be, into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class 
shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second 
class, at the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class, 
at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen 
every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation or other¬ 
wise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

Third. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of that state for which he shall be chosen. 

Fourth. The vice-president of the United States shall be presi¬ 
dent of the senate; but shall have no vote, unless they be equally 
divided. 

Fifth. The senate shall choose their other officers, and also a 
president pro tempore in the absence of the vice-president, or when 
he shall exercise the office of president of the United States. 

Sixth. The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeach¬ 
ments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or 
affirmation. When the president of the United States is tried, the 
chief justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without 
the concurrence of two thirds of the members present. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


217 


Seventh. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and 
enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States; 
but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to 
indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law. 

4. First. The times, places and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the 
legislature thereof; but the congress may, at any time, by law, make 
or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

Second. The congress shall assemble at least once in every year, 
and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless 
they shall, by law, appoint a different day. 

5. First. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns 
and qualifications of its own members; and a majority of each shall 
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the 
attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such 
penalties as each house may provide. 

Second. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, 
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concur¬ 
rence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

Third. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, 
in their judgment, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the 
members of either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of 
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Fourth. Neither house, during the session of congress, shall, 
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, 
nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be 
sitting. 

6. First. The senators and representatives shall receive a com¬ 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out 
of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except 
treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, 
and in going to or returning from the same; and for any speech or 
debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other 
place. 

Second- No senator or representative shall, during the time for 


218 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the 
authority of the United States which shall have been created, or 
the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time; 
and no person holding any office under the United States shall be 
a member of either house during his continuance in office. 

7. First. All bills for raising a revenue shall originate in the 
house of representatives; but the senate may propose or concur with 
amendments, as on other bills. 

Second. Every bill, which shall have passed the house of repre¬ 
sentatives and the senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be pre¬ 
sented to the president of the United States; if he approve, he shall 
sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that 
house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objec¬ 
tions at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, 
after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to 
pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if 
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But 
in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by 
yeas and nays; and the names of the persons voting for and against 
the bill, shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. 
If any bill shall not be returned by the president within ten days 
(Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
the congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which case, 
it shall not be a law. 

Third. Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concurrence 
of the senate and house of representatives may be necessary (except 
on a question of adjournment), shall be presented to the president 
of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be 
approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by 
two-thirds of the senate and house of representatives, according to 
the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

8. The congress shall have power— 

First. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to 
pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general wel¬ 
fare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States. 

Second. To borrow money on the credit of the United States. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


219 

Third. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
the several states, and with the Indian tribes. 

Fourth. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uni¬ 
form laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United 
States. 

Fifth. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign 
coin, and to fix the standard of weights and measures. 

Sixth. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the se¬ 
curities and current coin of the United States. 

Seventh. To establish post offices and post roads. 

Eighth. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by 
securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive 
right to their respective writings and discoveries. 

Ninth. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court. 
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations. 

Tenth. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
make rules concerning captures on land and water. 

Eleventh. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of 
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years. 

Twelfth. To provide and maintain a navy. 

Thirteenth. To make rules for the government and regulation of 
the land and naval forces. 

Fourteenth. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute 
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions. 

Fifteenth. To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining 
the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed 
in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respective¬ 
ly the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the 
militia according to the discipline prescribed by congress. 

Sixteenth. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatso¬ 
ever over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by 
cession of particular states, and the acceptance of congress, become 
the seat of government of the United States, and to exercise like 
authority over all places purchased, by the consent of the legislature 
of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful buildings; and 

Seventeenth. To make all laws which shall be necessary and 
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all 



220 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the 
United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

9. First. The migration or importation of such persons as any 
of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be 
prohibited by the congress prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such 
importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

Second. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
safety may require it. 

Third. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

Fourth. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in 
proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to 
be taken. 

Fifth. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from 
any state. No preference shall be given, by any regulation of com¬ 
merce or revenue, to the ports of one state over those of another; 
nor shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, 
clear or pay duties in another. 

Sixth. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in conse¬ 
quence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and 
account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
be published from time to time. 

Seventh. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 
States, and no person holding any office of profit or trust under 
them shall, without the consent of the congress, accept of any 
present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever, from any 
king, prince, or foreign state. 

10. First. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance or con¬ 
federation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit 
bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in 
payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex past facto law, or 
law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of 
nobility. 

Second. No state shall, without the consent of the congress, lay 
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be 
absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net 
produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or 
exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States, 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


221 


and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
congress. No state shall, without the consent of congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement oj* compact with another state or with a foreign 
power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such immi¬ 
nent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

1. First. The executive power shall be vested in a president of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the 
term of four years, and together with the vice-president, chosen for 
the same term, be elected as follows: 

Second. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legisla¬ 
ture thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole 
number of senators and representatives to which the state may be 
entitled in the congress; but no senator or representative, or person 
holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall 
be appointed an elector. 

Third. [The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote 
by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhab¬ 
itant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list 
of all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; 
which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat 
of government of the United States, directed to the president of the 
senate. The president of the senate shall, in the presence of the 
senate and house of representatives, open all the certificates, and the 
votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number 
of votes shall be the president, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one 
who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then 
the house of representatives shall immediately choose, by ballot, one 
of them for president; and if no person have a majority, then from 
the five highest on the list the said house shall, in like manner, choose 
the president. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken 
by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from 
two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be 
necessary to a choice. In every case after the choice of the president, 
the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall 


222 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


be the vice-president. But if there should remain two or more who 
have equal votes, the senate shall choose from them, by ballot, the 
vice-president.] 1 

Fourth. The congress may determine the time of choosing the 
electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which 
day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

Fifth. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of 
the United States at the time of the adoption of this constitution, 
shall be eligible to the office of president; neither shall any person 
be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

Sixth. In case of the removal of the president from office, or of 
his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the said office, the same shall devolve on the vice-president, and 
the congress may, by law, provide for the case of removal, death, 
resignation, or inability, both of the president and vice-president, 
declaring what officer shall then act as president, and such officer 
shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a president 
shall be elected. 

Seventh. The president shall, at stated times, receive for his 
services a compensation, which shall neither be increased or dimin¬ 
ished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and 
he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from 
the United States or any of them. 

Eighth. Before he enters on the execution of his office he shall 
take the following oath or affirmation: 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the 
office of president of the United States, and will, to the best of my 
ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United 
States. 

2. First. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several 
states, when called into the actual service of the United States. He 
may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each 
of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices; and he shall have power to grant reprieves 
and pardons, for offenses against the United States, except in cases 
of impeachment. 

1 Repealed by Amendment XII. 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


223 


Second. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent 
of the senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators 
present concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the advice 
and consent of the senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other 
officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law. But 
the congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior 
officers, as they shall think proper, in the president alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

Third. The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies 
that may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commis¬ 
sions, which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

3. He shall, from time to time, give to the congress information 
of the state of the Union; and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. He may, 
on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, 
and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time 
of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper. He shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers. 
He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and shall 
commission all officers of the United States. 

4. The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office, on impeachment for 
and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde¬ 
meanors. 


ARTICLE III. 

1. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the congress may, 
from time to time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the 
supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 
behavior; and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a 
compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continu¬ 
ance in office. 

2. First. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law 
and equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United 
States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their author¬ 
ity; to all cases, affecting ambassadors, stlier public ministers and 


224 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to eon* 
troversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controver¬ 
sies between two or more states; between a state and citizens of 
another state; between citizens of different states; between citizens 
of the same state, claiming lands under grants of different states; 
and between a state or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citi¬ 
zens or subjects. 

Second. In all cases, affecting ambassadors, other public minis¬ 
ters and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the 
supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other 
cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate 
jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under 
such regulations as the congress shall make. 

Third. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, 
shall be by jury; and such trials shall be held in the state where the 
seid crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed 
within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the 
congress may by law have directed. 

3. First. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or 
on confession in open court. 

Second. The congress shall have pow r er to declare the punishment 
of treason; but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of 
blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

1. Full faith and credit shall be given, in each state, to the 
public acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other state. 
And the congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in 
which such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the 
effect thereof. 

2. First. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all* 
privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

Second. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or 
other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another 
state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


225 

which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having 
jurisdiction of the crime. 

Third. No person held to service or labor in one state under the 
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; 
but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such serv¬ 
ice or labor may be due. 1 

3. First. New states may be admitted by the congress of this 
Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the juris¬ 
diction of any other state, nor any state be formed by the junction 
of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the 
legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of the congress. 

Second. The congress shall have pow r er to dispose of and make 
all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other 
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this con¬ 
stitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the 
United States or of any particular state. 

4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the 
executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against do¬ 
mestic violence. 


ARTICLE V. 

The congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution; or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, 
shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either 
case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this con¬ 
stitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the con¬ 
gress: Provided, that no amendment which may be made prior to 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in any manner 
affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first 
article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived 
of its equal suffrage in the senate. 

1 Annulled by Amendment XIII. 


226 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


ARTICLE VI. 

1. First. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, 
before the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the 
United States, under this constitution, as under the confederation. 

Second. This constitution and the laws of the United States 
which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or 
wffiich shall be made under authority of the United States, shall be 
the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be 
bound thereby; anything in the constitution or laws of any state 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Third. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and 
the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and 
judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, 
shall be bound, by oath or affirmation, to support this constitution; 
but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be suffi¬ 
cient for the establishment of this constitution between the states 
so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the states 
present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the inde¬ 
pendence of the United States of America the twelfth. 


AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the 
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peace¬ 
ably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of 
grievances. 

II. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a 
free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not 
be infringed. 

III. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 



FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


227 


without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall 
not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing 
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or other¬ 
wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a 
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in 
the militia, when in actual service, in time of w^ar or public danger; 
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice 
put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any crim¬ 
inal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, 
liberty or property, without due process of law; nor shall private 
property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the 
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state 
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which 
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be 
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be con¬ 
fronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process 
for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 

VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy 
shall exceed $20, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and 
no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court 
of the United States, than according to the rules of the common 
law. 

VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

IX. The enumeration, in the constitution, of certain rights, shall 
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the consti¬ 
tution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states 
respectively, or to the people. 

XI. The judicial power of the United States shall not be con¬ 
strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prose- 


228 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


euted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, 
or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

XII. 1. The electors shall meet in their respective states and 
vote by ballot for president and vice-president, one of whom at 
least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; 
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as president, 
and in distinct ballots the person voted for as vice-president; and 
they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as president, 
and of all persons voted for as vice-president, and of the number 
of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and trans¬ 
mit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, di¬ 
rected to the president of the senate; the president of the senate 
shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the 
person having the greatest number of votes for president shall be 
the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then 
from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, 
on the list of those voted for as president, the house of represent¬ 
atives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the president. But in 
choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the rep¬ 
resentation from each state having one vote: a quorum for this pur¬ 
pose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the 
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a 
choice. And if the house of representatives shall not choose a 
president whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, then the vice-presi¬ 
dent shall act as president, as in the case of the death or other con¬ 
stitutional disability of the president. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as vice-presi¬ 
dent, shall be the vice-president, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the senate 
shall choose a vice-president. A quorum for the purpose shall consist 
of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of 
the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of presi¬ 
dent shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States. 

XIII. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 


229 


punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly con¬ 
victed, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to 
their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro¬ 
priate legislation. 

XIV. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make 
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any 
person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor 
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of 
the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states, 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when 
the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for presi¬ 
dent and vice-president of the United States, representatives in con¬ 
gress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members 
of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of 
such state being 21 years of age and citizens of the United States, 
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other 
crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the 
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to 
the whole number of male citizens 21 years of age in such state. 

3. No person shall be a senator or representative in congress, 
or elector of president and vice-president, or hold any office, civil or 
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having 
previously taken an oath as a member of congress, or as an officer 
of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as 
an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the constitu¬ 
tion of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or re¬ 
bellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, 
remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, author¬ 
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall 
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall 


230 


CIVICS FOR MONTANA STUDENTS. 


assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection 
or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave; but * all such debts, obligations and 
claims shall be held illegal and void. 

5. The congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation, the provisions of this article. 

XV. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on ac¬ 
count of race, color or previous condition of servitude. 

2. The congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap¬ 
propriate legislation. 


INDEX 


Additions to Cities. 32 

Adoption of Constitution.157 

Agriculture, Labor and Indus¬ 
try . 67 

Agricultural College.92, 93 

Agricultural Department.204 

Aldermen.33, 39 

Ambassadors .201 

Amending the Constitution : 

State . 48 

United States . 

162, 179, 191, 208, 211, 212 

Appeals .76, 80, 209 

Apportionment of Representa¬ 
tives : 

State.. 49 

United States.160, 164 

Apportionment of Taxes. 13 

Appropriations ....52, 70, 71, 183 

Arbitration, Board of. 66 

Areas of Counties. 5 

Army .170, 196 

Articles of Confederation. . 155, 181 

Assessment . 11 

Attorney-General: 

State .60-62, 

64, 65, 67, 69, 71, 81, 91, 93 
United States. . . .204, 205, 207 

Australian Ballot. 23 

Ballots.21-24 

Bank Notes.177 

Bankruptcy.179 

Bill of Attainder.46, 191 

Bill of Rights.191, 212 

Boards, see the different names. 

Bonds.15, 27, 37, 90, 91 

Cabinet .200, 205 

Candidates .... 19, 20, 33, 40, 60, 61 

Canvassing .22, 61 

Capital of the United States.. 185 


Carey Land Act. 65 

Caucus .20, 33, 169 

Central Committee.20, 60 

Certificates, Teachers’.85-88 

Charities and Reforms. 66 

Chief of Police.38, 75 

Child and Animal Protection.. 67 

Child Labor.48, 180 

Circuit Courts of Appeals.206, 208 

Cities, Addition to. 32 

Cities, Classification of.32, 41 

Cities, Population of. 41 

Citizenship .178 

City Assessor. 38 

City Attorney. 38 

City Charters. 45 

City Clerk. 38 

City Council .33-40 

City Debts. 37 

City Finance. 36 

City Government: 

Contrast with State Govern¬ 
ment . 44 

How Organized. 31 

Pow;ers of.35, 36 

Problems of.39 

Why Needed. 30 

City Jailor. 38 

City Surveyor. 38 

City Treasurer. 38 

Clerk of District Court. 

15, 17, 28, 29, 80 

Clerk of Election.21, 22, 28 

Clerk of Supreme Court.60, 81 

Coal Mine Inspector.67, 68 

Codes .55, 56 

Coinage.175, 176 

Collection of Taxes. 13 

Colonial Union.154 

Commerce Court.210 


231 

































































232 


INDEX 


Commerce, Foreign.171 

Commerce, Interstate.172 

Commercial Compromise.156 

Commission Government. 40 

Commissioners for the Insane. . 65 

Committees, Congressional.165 

Committees, Legislative. 52 

Compromises of the Constitution.156 
Congress : 

Acts of.168 

Composition of.160 

Meetings of.167 

Number.166 

Organization of.165 

Powers of.170, 190 

Records of.167 

Restrictions on.190-192 

Sessions of.166, 197 


Connecticut Compromise.. .156, 161 

Constable .17, 28, 73, 75 

Constitution of Montana. 

.47, 48, 63, 94-151 

Constitution of the United 

States . . .155-158, 

181, 186, 190-192, 208, 215-230 

Constitutional Convention. 

. 47, 48, 155, 211 

Consuls .201 

Continental Congress.154 

Conventions, Nominating. 

.20, 60, 195, 196 

Copyrights .178 

Coroner .17, 28, 77-79 

Corporations, Regulation of.... 180 
Counties, Area and Population. 5 

Counties, Classification of. 28 

Counties, New.43, 44 

County Assessor.... 12, 17, 22, 29 

County Attorney.17, 27-29, 79 

County Auditor.... 8, 15, 17, 27-29 

County Clerk. 

6, 9, 13, 15-17, 21, 23, 28, 29, 61, 


69. 

County Commissioners.5-7, 

9, 12, 15, 17, 21, 22, 27, 28, 

48, 61, 70, 80, 83, 84, 90, 91 

County Debts. 15 

County Government.4, 43 

County High Schools.84, 90 

County Physician.8, 17, 28 


County Records. 8 

County Seats. 6 

County Superintendent. 

.17, 27, 29, 83-85, 88, 90 

County Surveyor.7, 9, 17, 28 

County Treasurer. 

.13, 15-17, 22, 27-29, 70, 84 

Court of Claims.209 

Court of Customs Appeals.210 

Court House. 9 

Court Stenographers.SI, 82 

Cumulative Voting.162 

Declaration of Rights.51, 95 

Delegates to Congress.... 163, 187 

Democracy, Growth of.212 

Dental Examiners. 66 

Department of Agriculture... .204 
Department of Commerce and 

Labor .204 

Department of Justice.204 

Deputies .28, 6S 

Direct Government.. .•. 


. . .5, 33, 39, 47, 48, 56, 59, 90, 91 


District Attorney.207 

District Clerk. 84 

District Court: 

State.75, 78, 80 

United States. .. 171, 206, 208 

District of Columbia.185, 196 

Duties.157, 172, 181-183, 187 

Education, Bureau of.202 

Education, State Board of.87, 91, 92 

Eight-Hours Day. 48 

Elastic Clause.190 

Elections. 21, 33, 38, 40, 49, 

60, 61, 69, 70, 73, 75, 76, 81 
83, 91, 161-163, ISO, 187, 193-195 

Elisor . 79 

Eminent Domain. 7 

Enabling Act. 47 

Equalization . 12 , 69 

Equity . 78 

Examination, Judicial. 74 , 79 

Examination, Teachers’.85, 86 

Examiner, State. 67 

Examiners, State Board of.71 

Ex post facto Law.46, 191 

Extradition . 174 


Federal Government, Powers of 


170-192, 213 












































































INDEX 


233 


Fees .15, 70 

Filibustering.166 

Fines . 15 

Fish Commission. 67 

Franchises . 39 

Furnishing Board. 64 

Fusion . 20 

Gerrymandering .161 

Government Defined. 1 

Government of the United States 

Indirect .159 

Governor.48, 54, 55, 60-70, 79, 82, 

91-93, 164, 174. 

Governors of Montana.163 

Grand Jury.77, 192 

Greenbacks .177 

Guam, Government of.186 

Habeas Corpus.98, 191 

Health, State Board of.167 

Horticulture, State Board of.. 66 

House of Representatives : 

State.49, 50, 52, 82 

United States.160, 161, 164, 
168, 169, 185,' 187, 195, 210 

Immigration .171 

Impeachment .82, 210 

Indictment.77, 80, 192 

Information.77, 80 

Inheritance Tax.13, 70, 90 

Initiative.39, 41, 48, 58, 59 

Insane Asylum. 08 

Inspector of Steam Vessels.... 68 

Insurance, Commissioner of... 64 

Interior Department.202 

Internal Revenues.182 

Interstate Comity.173 

Interstate Commerce Commis¬ 
sion .173, 204 

Judges of District Court. 

.17, 25, 76, 81 


Judges of Election. 

.17, 19, 21, 22. 28 

Judges of Supreme Court of 

Montana .60, 65, 80-82 

Judges of United States Courts. 

.198, 206, 207, 209, 210 

Judicial Districts. 75 

Judicial Interpretation .72, 198,213 

Jurors . 

Jury Trials.74, 76, 192 


Justice of the Peace. 17, 28, 73-78 
Keeper of the Poor Farm.8, 17, 26 

Land Agent. 93 

Land Commissioners.91, 93 

Land Grants.1S9 

Law-Making.52, 166 

Legal Tender.176 

Legislative Assembly.4S-54* 

61, 63, 64, 68, 69-71, 75, 85, 164 

Levying Taxes. 

.12, 36, 69, 70, 90, 91, 181 

Licenses .14, 15, 36, 70 

Lieutenant-Governor. .50, 60-63, 82 
Live Stock Sanitary Board.... 67 

Marque and Reprisal.170 

Marriage and Divorce Laws.43, 179 
Marshal of the Supreme Court. 81 

Marshal, Town.38, 75 

Mayor .34, 37-40, 75 

Medical Examiners. 65 

Militia .62, 79, 170, 196 

Mints . 176 


Money .175-178 

Montana, History of....: . 46 

Montana Reports. 81 

National Debt.184 

National Domain.186 

Naturalization .178 

Navy.170, 184, 196 

Navy Department.186, 202 

New States, Admission of.... 186 

Normal College.85-87 

Ordinances . . . .. 34 

Osteopathic Examiners. 66 

Panama Canal.202 

Paper Money.176 

Pardons.37, 63, 197 

Patents.178, 202 

Penitentiary . 68 

Pharmacy, State Board of. 66 

Philippine Islands, Government 

of .186 

Platforms . 61 

Police Court. 75 

Police Judge.38, 75 

Political Parties.19, 33, 190 

Toll Taxes.11, 36 

Poor .7, 66 

Poor Tax. 13 

Population of Cities. 41 
















































































234 


INDEX 


Topulation of Counties. 5 

Postal Savings Banks.204 

Postoffices .178, 184, 203 

Poultry Husbandry. 67 

President of the United States.166, 
186, 193-199, 201, 203, 207, 210, 
213, 214. 

President pro tempore . 

.50, 63, 165, 168 


Primary Elections. 21 

Prison Commissioners . 65 

Probate Courts. 78 

Probation Officers. 80 

Property Taxes.11, 36, 37, 70 

Proportional Representation. . .163 

Protective Tariff.172 

Public Administrator.... 17, 28, 78 

Public Lands.188 

Public Libraries.37, 38 

Railroad Commissioners.60, 62, 65 

Recall .24, 40, 41 

Referendum.39, 41, 48, 58, 59 

Reform School.68, 92 

Register of the State Land Of¬ 
fice . 93 

Registration .18, 33 

Representatives in Legislative 

Assembly .17, 49, 50 

Representatives from Montana. 163 

Reserves . 189 

Roads .6, 7 

Road Supervisors.7, 17 

Road Tax. 13 

Road Viewers.6, 17 

Salaries : 

Congressmen .168 

County Officers. 29 

President and Vice - Presi¬ 
dent .196 

State Officers.62, 81 

School Age. 89 

School Boards...83, 84, 88, 89, 91 

School Districts. 83 

School Finance. 89 

School for the Deaf and Blind. 

.92, 93 

School Libraries. 89 

School of Mines.92, 93 

Secretary of State: 

Montana-60-65, 69, 70, 93 

United States .200 


Senate: 

State.45, 50, 52, 62, 65, 67, 82 

United States.160-164, 

169, 183, 195, 201, 207, 210 

Senators, Election of. 

.57, 157-159, 211 

Senators from Montana.163 

Session Laws. 55 

Sheep Commissioners. 66 

Sheriff.. .15, 17, 22, 28, 29, 74, 79 

Sinking Fund.15, 37, 90, 91 

Soldiers’ Homes. 66 , 68 , 205 

Speaker.50, 62, 63, 165, 168 

Special Assessments. 37 

State Accountant. 68 

State Boards. See the differ¬ 

ent names. 

State Capital. 48 

State Capitol.64, 68 

State Debt.48, 70 

State Department.200 

State Engineer. 65 

State Examiner. 67 

State Finance. 69 

State Fire Marshal. 68 

State Game and Fish Warden.. 

.67, 68 

State Government. 42 

State Historical Library... . 66 , 68 

State Inspector of Boilers. 68 

State Inspector of Mines. 68 

State Institutions. 68 , 92, 93 

State Law Library.65, 68 

State Orphans’ Home. 68 , 92 

State Sovereignty . 45 

State Superintendent. 

.60-62, 65, 84, 85-87, 91-93 

State Treasurer.60-62, 64, 65, 69-71 

State Veterinary Surgeon. 67 

Stock Commissioners. 66 

Street Commissioner.38 

Sub-Tx*easuries .202 

Success of the Constitution... 158 
Supreme Court: 

State .48, 68 , 80-82 

United States.. .206, 207, 209 
Supreme Law of the Land.... 192 

Taxation . 

-11, 34, 35, 69, 70, 89-91, 181 

Tax Sales. 13 









































































INDEX 


235 


Teachers .85-88 

Territories .186, 196 

Text-Books .88 

Three-Fifths Compromise.156 

Town Marshal.38, 75 

Towns. See Cities. 

Township Government.3, 73 

Treasury Department.201 

Treaties .192, 201 

Tuberculosis Sanitarium... .66, 68 
Universal Postal Union.203 


University .87, 92 

Veto.34, 54, 55, 166, 197, 198 

Vice-JPretSident. 

.165, 193, 195, 196, 199, 210 

Voters.18, 33, 83, 213 


Voting Machines.26, 65 

Wards .33, 40 

War Department.184, 202 

War Powers.170 

Weights and Measures.9, 64 





















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